The Mermaid Problem
by GrittyRe-boot
Summary: Edited: She saved his life 7 years ago, a beautiful, mysterious creature with the voice of an angel. And he has kept her secret ever since, but the human world is a dangerous place for her, and some secrets can't stay hidden for long.
1. Prologue

**I freaking hate it when I get an idea for a story when I'm in the middle of working on another story, especially since I start grad school tomorrow and won't have time for super frequent updates on even the one, but I'll do my best to update this and War Stories as quickly as possible. I just had to get this out there, and I hope that you enjoy it. It's my third AU story in a row so I'll try to make the next one canon.**

She watches him, the beautiful young boy with the peppering of freckles over his pale skin. And she weaves her delicate fingers through his sopping wet hair, and she sings, and she'll sing until somebody comes for him and she'll swim away then because nobody can be allowed to see her. But for now she sings, and he sleeps. He's breathing softly and she can see his chest rise and fall. And she's happy knowing that he's safe. The man wasn't so lucky, she doesn't know why but a lump forms in her throat at the thought of it, at the thought of the young boy's father who perished on that boat so far out into the ocean. She doesn't know this boy, or the man, but her heart breaks for them both. He's so beautiful, and young and innocent and she only wants to take care of him, even if it's just for awhile. She keeps singing, hoping that the sound of her voice will bring him comfort and nice dreams.

"Dad?" he whispers, so softly that she can barely hear it over the sound of the crashing waves nipping at her tail and his voice is hoarse and strained. "Dad?" he says again. She panics, she doesn't know what to do. He can't see her, nobody can be allowed to see her. She doesn't want to leave him all alone, but she must. He opens his eyes, it's too late.

"Are you… are you an angel?" he says weakly. At that she climbs away from him, startled.

"Wait," he says, a little stronger, sitting up. She knows that she shouldn't stay, that she can't, but he looks so lost, so scared. "You were singing," he says as a statement rather than a question. "I heard you."

She simply nods.

He smiles a little. "You sing like an angel," he says confusedly. "Am I dead?"

She shakes her head.

"Whoa," he says, recoiling a little, she wondered how long it would take for him to see it. "Is that… is that real?" he says, reaching out to touch it, and she scoots back a little, frightened. "It's okay," he says. "I'm not going to hurt you." She's still uneasy, but she doesn't stop him this time.

"Cool," he says, running his hand over the slimy orange and pink scales. "What's your name?" he says.

"Name?" she finally says uneasily. "I don't have a name. Not a human one"

"Everybody has a name," he says. "Mine's Finn."

"Like a fish?" she says.

"Yeah, it's like I'm a fish too."

She giggles a little.

"Wait a minute," he says, reaching out for the gold necklace that she's wearing. "Your necklace, it says Rachel."

"Rachel?" she repeats. She found the necklace at the bottom of the sea the week before, unsure of whom it belonged to or what it meant, she just thought it was beautiful, so she kept it.

"That must be your name," he says. "Rachel."

"Rachel," she says again, liking the way it sounds. "I like it." She says smiling.

"I like your tail Rachel," he says, touching it again. "It's all slippery."

"That tickles," she says, giggling.

"Sorry," he says bashfully, and he blushes a little, because she's beautiful, even though he doesn't like girls he likes her, he likes her face, and her big dark eyes and her long long hair and her shiny, slippery tail. "I didn't think you were real, I mean what you are."

"Promise you won't tell anyone," she says. "I'm not supposed to show myself to humans."

"But this is the coolest thing ever. I mean, can't I at least tell my dad?" At that his face falls and he starts to look around frantically. "Wait, where's… what happened to my dad?" He starts to get scared, she can tell. "Wh— where is he?"

She doesn't know how to tell him, she doesn't want to lie so she opens her mouth to speak.

"Finn!" She snaps her gaze toward the direction of the yelling. "Christopher!"

"They're coming for you, I have to go!" she says frantically as they approach the beach. "Promise me you won't say a word."

"I promise," Finn says. "Will I see you again?"

She doesn't answer, she simply leans forward and touches her wet, salty lips to his, his first kiss.

"Goodbye Finn," she says, disappearing into the ocean before he can say another word.

* * *

><p>He sits on the beach in his black suit, carving random shapes into the wet sand. He knows that he should be crying, his mother cried the whole time. He wants to cry, he wants to scream, he wants to punch and kick the waves that took his father beneath them, but he can't, because he knows that his hands will go straight through them. The ocean could kill but it couldn't be killed, he couldn't take revenge on the ocean, he could only sit there and poke uselessly at the sand. His mother will be mad that he ran off, he doesn't care, being on the beach is the closest he'll ever be to his father again. And the truth is, as guilty as he feels for being able to think about anything more than how much he misses him, he thinks about her, about the beautiful girl with the shiny tail who kissed him. It had to have been her, she must have been the one who saved him. He couldn't have swam that far by himself.<p>

As soon as he remembered the storm and the boat going under he put the pieces together. She saved his life somehow, and she sang to him in the sweetest voice until he woke up. He knows that she's real, that he didn't dream her, but he doesn't know if he'll ever see her again and the thought of it makes him even sadder. He looks out over the ocean at the sun setting over the glistening water and he thinks of them both. And he wonders if people who die in the ocean turn into fish, he wonders if that was what happened to Rachel, then he shakes his head, realizing that that's stupid. But most people would think that believing in mermaids at all was stupid.

He wants to see her again, he wants to see her again so badly that he thinks he sees her shining coral-hued tail pop out of the water for a split second. He blinks and looks out over the water again. _No, it couldn't be_ he thinks to himself, shaking his head. But then, so slowly that he isn't sure it's happening at all, a girl, a very young girl with long dark hair and big brown eyes pokes her head up out of the water, and he drops his stick, shocked. He stands up slowly as if he fears that she will swim away if he moves too quickly, but she doesn't swim away, she just smiles her brilliant smile, and in spite of everything, in spite of the intense sadness he feels in his heart, he smiles back.


	2. Chasing Tail

He isn't sure how it's supposed to work at first, whether he can just show up any time he wants and she'll come find him. She told him that others couldn't be allowed to see her, so he sneaks out late at night when the beach is practically deserted aside from the occasional sleeping bum. And he waits for her, waits until his eyelids get heavy and he begins to lose hope, but she comes, she comes every time. He asks her how she knows, how she knows when to find him, and she explains it to him.

"When mermaids kiss they can always sense each other's presence afterward no matter how far away they are," she says, making his eyes go wide in bewilderment.

"That's why you kissed me," he says as a statement rather than a question and she nods and smiles sweetly. "But I'm not a mermaid, how did you know it would work?"

"I didn't," she admits. "But I had to try."

"So you can just find me, anywhere no matter what?" he says, still not sure if he understood it.

"Anywhere," she assures him. "What about you? Why do humans kiss?"

He shrugs, "Because it feels nice I guess."

"It does," she agrees and then she leans in to kiss him again, softly and sweetly.

That is the second of many kisses, salty sweet kisses that last forever and make them both lightheaded. The first time he slips her the tongue she freaks a little. And when she pushes him away he explains frantically that that is simply the way that humans kiss sometimes. And she leans in timidly and tries it again, putting her tongue in his mouth this time, and it's awesome, and as their lips part she asks him warily if she had done it right and he assures her that she had, even though he has nothing to compare it to. He is 12 at the time and he assumes that she is the same age, although she can't tell him for sure since time doesn't work the same way where she comes from.

They don't only kiss, she tells him stories about where she comes from, a land many miles below the sea where all of the merpeople live together and sing songs and tell stories about the mysterious land above that most of them don't dare to venture into. He asks her if she is a princess like in _The Little Mermaid_ and she assures him that she isn't, that the princess would never get away with sneaking off to the surface. She tells him about her father, a timid merman who greatly fears the surface, she tells him that if her father finds out what she is doing then she'll be greatly punished. He asks her why she risks it, "I do it for you," she says, shrugging like it's the simplest thing in the world and he smiles and kisses her, which becomes so easy in so little time.

He tells her about his life too. He tells her that he has lived on McKinley island since he was born and has never been anywhere else. McKinley is a tiny fisherman's province with fewer than 2000 people living there and no tourism to speak of. If you live there you either catch fish for a living or sell equipment to catch fish with. His own father was a fisherman, it was the reason they were out in the water when the freak storm hit, he had always loved to go on weekend long boat trips with his dad during the long, lazy summers. He lives a simple, uneventful life, but to her it is fascinating. Still, he wants to somehow show her that there is more to life on the surface than what McKinley island has to offer, so from then on he brings books, all kinds of books. It starts off simple, he brings his collection of _Hardy Boys_ and _Goosebumps _novels, but as the months pass the selection becomes more and more elaborate. Finn isn't a big fan of reading, but when he reads to her he starts to enjoy it, so much that after awhile he finds himself looking for a challenge.

They read _The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn_ together and _Old Yeller_ and _Johnny Tremain _and _The Outsiders_, and all of the _Harry Potter_ Books, and _The Spiderwick Chronicles_ and _A Series of Unfortunate Events_, all of which she falls in love with, but they are all boy books and he knows that she would probably like to read a girl book at some point, so he brings her _The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle_, which has a girl's name in the title and _Bridge to Terabithia_, which makes her cry. It isn't long before she asks him to teach her, and he has to admit that the idea is daunting, he can barely pay attention in class most days, but he agrees, and luckily she is a much better student than he is a teacher, and she catches on fast. So fast that before long she is reading to him, she starts off with the _Fraggle Rock_ books and _Frog and Toad_ and _Dr. Suess_ and works her way up to _Superfudge_ and _Matilda_. And if they aren't reading or talking or kissing they swim, they race each other to the buoy and she always wins, because she doesn't know how not to, but he doesn't mind so much, because he always beats her at basketball, he used his allowance to buy a net that he attached to the deck and they play some nights when the mood strikes. And he brings music for her to listen to, classic rock songs mostly and she loves them all and she memorizes the songs word for word and sings them to him so beautifully, and they sing them together and she is so much better, but singing with her makes him better. After awhile he's pretty good himself, for a human. They have the perfect friendship, the only problem was it only lasts for an hour or two at a time before they both have to hurry home before their parents wake up.

Starting high school is tricky, because it is the first time that Finn is expected to date girls, normal girls with legs, and being with Rachel has become such a big part of his life that he doesn't even think about other girls. When Brittany Pierce asks him to a movie at age 14 he doesn't know what to say, he wonders if Rachel ever gets asked out on dates by fishboys her age and if she ever thinks about accepting them, he just never feels right about asking. He turns Brittany down, he isn't sure why, she's pretty and nice and she likes him, and Rachel isn't necessarily his girlfriend, she isn't even a girl really, he isn't sure what she is. She's his friend, his friend that he sees for an hour or two a night most weekends. And they kiss. they kiss more than friends probably should but that doesn't mean he has a girlfriend, does it? He decides to ask her the night after Brittany asks him out.

"Are you my girlfriend Rachel?" He asks tentatively as they hold hands on the beach.

"I don't know," she says. "We don't really have boyfriends and girlfriends where I come from."

"Well, here when you like a girl and she likes you that means she's your girlfriend," He says.

"But how would that work?" she says, "You're a boy and I'm a fish," she continues, halfway jokingly.

"I'm a fish too remember?" he says, and they kiss. She is his girlfriend, even though she's only a girl from the waist up.

* * *

><p>Seven years, seven years have passed since that fateful night. And as Finn enters McKinley Island High for the last day of his junior year he can't stop thinking about how excited he is, not so much about Summer Vacation, even though he's definitely exited about that, but he's mostly excited about seeing her again. He doesn't know for sure that she'll be there that night, really it's just a feeling, but his feelings are usually correct when it comes to Rachel, even if he doesn't quite know why. He hasn't seen her in a month, it's the longest they've ever been separated since the first time they met, but it was finally Rachel's time to go on her pilgrimage. Every Mermaid upon reaching a certain age is given permission to venture outside their home and explore the waters of another land. When she told him about it he suggested Australia, so she went, and he spent the month with only his human friends.<p>

"Finn, my man," Puck says, clapping Finn on the back as he meets his side in the hallway. "Santana Lopez's Party tonight, are you in?"

"I'll be there," Finn agrees, making a mental note not to drink, once everyone has passed out he'll go to her.

"Sweet," he says. "Oh, and be prepared, Quinn's going to be there."

"And?" Finn says, uninterested.

"And she's totally into you man."

"And like I said, I have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, your girlfriend who lives in_ the south_," Puck says skeptically. "That's the kind of lie guys on the chess team tell, you're the quarterback, what's your excuse?"

"I don't have an excuse, I actually have a girlfriend."

"Whatev dude, but just so you know Karofsky and Azimio have a bet going to see when you're going to finally come out."

"Whatever man," Finn says rolling his eyes. And they exchange a complicated handshake and separate to their respective classes.

He knows it's strange, or he should think that it's strange, but it doesn't feel that way at all. It feels right, the only drawback to having a mermaid for a girlfriend was that no one could ever know, and of course there was also the sex thing, but he always figured he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. For now jerking off works well enough, and he loves Rachel, he's loved her since he was ten years old, he loves her more than he's ever loved anyone, more than he ever will love anyone, and even though nobody could possibly understand it, it's enough that he does.

* * *

><p>Everyone at the party is passed out by 3 am, now is his moment. Since his mom moved in with Burt from the boat repair shop two years ago, seeing Rachel is easier than ever. The dinghy was a peace offering, Burt knew that Finn wasn't fond of the idea of his mother replacing his dad, so he did everything in his power to get on his good side. He knows that he should have been opposed to the idea of Burt trying to buy his love, but he can't help but love his boat. He detaches it from the dock and pulls up the anchor before revving the motor and setting out for the open sea. He figures he's far out enough once the lights from the island begin to blur and look like fireflies in the distance. He turns off the motor, drops the anchor into the water and holds out his lantern, scanning the ocean around him. He knows it's pointless to call her name, she knows that he's there, waiting, and waiting is all that he can do.<p>

Somehow he knows she's there before he hears the telltale splash of her tail, a smile reaches his lips as he sees her in the dim lamplight, poking her head above water. Her smile seems to illuminate the dark night and he can't help himself, he sets his lamp down and jumps in, splashing her and making her laugh. She grabs onto his life vest and kisses him eagerly and he kisses her back, holding her around her narrow waist and thinking of how much he missed the salty sweet taste of her kisses.

"I missed you," she says breathlessly.

"Me too," he replies and he kisses her again, and it's so familiar yet still so amazing. "How was Australia?"

"It was magical," she beams. "The water is so much clearer there, You should have come with me, you would have loved it."

"I wish I could have. I woke up the same time every night only to realize that there was nowhere for me to go, and then I couldn't fall asleep again, it sucked."

"Promise me we'll go together one day, and not just there, I want to go everywhere Finn. Promise me we'll go."

"Everywhere?" He says, and she nods vigorously, wide eyed and adorable. "Okay," he agrees, "I promise."

He climbs back into the boat after a few more minutes of making up for lost kissing time and he pulls her in after him and as he does her hair falls away and he can see her breasts. He's seen them so many times and it still makes him blush a little. He can't pinpoint the exact moment she grew boobs but since she has he wants to look at them all the time, look at them and touch them. The first time he did she didn't react much beyond being mildly confused. She didn't understand why anyone would be so interested in playing with them, to her someone touching her breast was the same as touching her arm or shoulder, she didn't see the need to cover them, nobody did where she came from. He had a feeling she'd be the kind of girl who might object to it if she knew the significance of boobs on land. Still, he felt the need to explain it to her. "In my world being able to touch a girls boobs is an honor, something that needs to be earned by the person she loves," he said, and she agreed that she wouldn't let anybody touch them except for Finn, and it was truly a victory in his eyes.

He lays back in his boat and she cuddles up next to him and they look at the stars together and she talks about Australia and he listens, and before long he drifts off to sleep, with beautiful Rachel there by his side.


	3. Brand New Day

**For anyone reading my other currently running fic, the new chapter should be up by tomorrow night. Sorry for the delay on that by the way. Each chapter is like three normal chapters on that one.**

He doesn't know when he fell asleep, but he can feel the sun on his face, snapping him awake. He is a little disoriented as is normally the case when he first wakes up in the morning, he checks his watch, it's 7:20, his mom and Burt have probably been awake since 5, and he isn't looking forward to explaining himself when they get back from work. He feels it was worth it though. To fall asleep next to her—

"Oh god!" he says, finally noticing the extra weight and heat on his body, he looks around frantically, hoping that nobody is around to see her, weekend water traffic usually starts to pick up around this time of the morning and he doesn't know how he'll even begin to explain the naked girl laying next to him in the boat… wait, naked _girl_?

His breath hitches in his throat and prickly tears spring to his eyes as he sees them, long, bronze, smooth and perfect, some of the best legs he's ever seen, but why the hell did she have legs? Where did they come from? Where was her tail? Was it something he did? He didn't understand any of it.

"Um, Ra-Rachel?" he says, shaking her gently, hoping that she doesn't freak out, but how could she not? He was freaking out and he wasn't the one who had turned into a different species overnight.

"Hello Finn," she says sleepily before shutting her eyes again, and then she snaps them open once more and gasps. "On no! it's morning I have to get home," she says frantically, starting out of the boat.

"I wouldn't do that," he says, stopping her.

"What? Why?" she says, confused. "Wait, Finn, something's different, I feel…" And she looks down and lets out a scream before he puts his hand over her mouth, silencing it.

"Okay, you can't panic Rachel if I put my hand down you have to promise me you won't scream, can you do that for me?"

She nods and he slowly lowers his hand.

"I have legs Finn, why do I have legs?" she says, trying to keep her calm and failing pretty miserably.

"Believe me if I knew I would tell you," he says.

"This is so strange, I don't understand this, how did this happen?"

"Rachel, you have to calm down. We'll figure this out."

"How am I going to get home? I can't swim with these, I'll drown."

"We're not going to let that happen."

She looks down at another foreign body part that grew overnight and she lets out another sharp gasp, but stops herself from screaming. "What is this Finn?" she says shrilly as she stares down at it in bewilderment. "What is it? Is it some sort of wound?"

"No, no," he says waving his hands, "it's just… your…"

"My what?" she says, the panicked tone persisting.

"Your, lady business," he says, under his breath.

"My lady business? What's that? Do you have one?" she says, quickly reaching for his pants to see for herself.

"No," he says, stopping her. Why didn't he ever explain this type of thing to her? He thinks to himself, but in his defense he wasn't exactly expecting her to grow a vag overnight, hoping maybe, but definitely not expecting. "It would be weird for me to have one but it's perfectly normal for you, well not really normal in this case but normal for girls who aren't usually… half-fish," he rambles confusedly. "Okay let's maybe cover you up," he continues, finding his beach towel and draping it over her.

"I'm afraid Finn, I'm so afraid right now."

"Hey, it's okay," he says, tentatively pulling her into his embrace. "There has to be an explanation for this, what about that story you told me that one time, about how mermaids get legs if they stay out of the water too long?"

"That's only a myth, it's not true, it can't be," Rachel says. "It's something our elders tell us to scare us, to keep us from straying but it's never actually happened. It's like what your mother told you, if you make a funny face for too long it can get stuck that way."

"Well I thought _you_ were a myth," Finn says rationally. "Maybe there was more truth to it than you thought, maybe no other mermaids have been to the surface long enough to find out if it's true."

"How do I turn back? They never explained that to me, the myth says that mermaids who turn human lose their power and are doomed to walk the planet alone forever and ever." She's crying now, and he holds her tighter.

"You're not alone Rachel, I'm going to help you though this."

"How?" she says, looking at him, and he knows that she's having a crisis, still, he can't help but notice how beautiful she is, he's only ever seen her at sunset at a distance, at night by lamplight and in the early morning gloom, never in direct sunlight. And he notices the hints of deep red in her flowing hair and the color of her skin, like honey, and the pinkness of her full lips and he notices the way her eyes glow almost supernaturally, and he can barely believe it, he always knew that she was beautiful but this was almost too much. "Finn?" she says urgently, snapping him out of it.

"I'm sorry," he says. "Look, you lost your tail from staying out of the water too long, maybe if you get your legs wet your tail will come back, like in that movie with Tom Hanks and that nurse chick from _Kill Bill_."

"This isn't a movie Finn," she says.

"Well it sure as hell feels like one," he replies.

"Okay, she says," calming down a little, "That could work. It's worth trying."

"Yeah, don't worry, you're going to be fine." She nods and forces a weak smile and grabs his hand and hesitantly puts one leg over the side of the boat before stopping short.

"What's wrong?" he says, knitting his brow.

And she turns back to face him, a ponderous look on her face. "Finn… I have legs," she says more calmly.

"I know, that's kind of the problem here."

"No you don't understand, I have_ legs_, human legs." There is almost a pleading look on her face and he finally understands what she's getting at.

"No, no way," he says, shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"It's too dangerous Rachel, we have no idea what might happen, it could rain."

"It never rains here in the summer, you told me that. Not since your dad…" and she trails off, noticing the sadness that reaches his face for a moment. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"Don't worry about that right now," he says, shaking his head. "Besides, there are other ways to get wet, what if someone throws a slushy at you or something?"

"That delicious fruity beverage you bring me sometimes? Why would anyone do that?"

"It's been known to happen," he explains. "The point is you don't know what will turn you back and if somebody sees you like that you don't know what they might do. Not all humans are good Rachel, someone may try to hurt you and I couldn't live with myself if something ever happened to you."

She gives him a warm smile, but doesn't let up. "Finn you have to let me do this, do you have any idea how long I've dreamed of being able to see the surface? To really see it? To meet actual humans? To meet your friends?"

"I want all that too," he says, sweetly grazing her cheek with his knuckles. "But not at the risk of your safety, when you saved my life all those years ago it became my responsibility to protect you."

"And you _can_ protect me Finn," she says pleadingly, placing her delicate hands on his shoulders. "You can keep me safe."

"You know I would, but…"

"Finn please. I promise that I'll turn back and go home if I can, but for now I have to take this chance."

He looks at her sweet, beautiful face and he knows that he can't say no to her, he loves her too much.

"Okay," he finally says, and she squeals and throws her arms around his neck, knocking him backwards in the boat. "But you have to promise me you won't go off on your own, If I'm going to protect you I have to know where you are all the time, can you promise me that?"

"I promise," she says excitedly and she kisses him eagerly, and he kisses her back and touches her skin and touches her hair.

"Finn, what the hell are you doing?" Finn snaps his attention toward the source of the voice. "Do your folks know you're out here?" Coach Bieste, Finn's football coach and the only fisherwoman on McKinley Island says sternly from her boat. He was so caught up in his activity that he didn't even notice the sound of her approaching, if he was going to protect Rachel he really needed to be more careful, or at the very least not allow her to kiss him like that outdoors.

He protectively wraps his towel tighter around Rachel's small body and sits up. "Uh yeah I was just about to head home now."

"Hi, I'm Rachel," Rachel beams, holding her towel on with one hand and waving giddily with the other. "Finn's girlfriend from Atlanta. I'm visiting for the week." He's glad at that moment that he once told her how he described her to his friends, and that she remembered it, maybe she wouldn't be so hopeless after all. "It is very nice to meet one of Finn's fellow human friends." He squeezes his eyes shut in embarrassment. Okay, maybe he was wrong.

"Good to meet you too," Bieste says with a tone betraying her words, not having paid much mind to her odd word choice. "Finn, get your ass home and get some clothes on your little Southern belle, I don't know how things work in the mainland but out here a towel doesn't count as an outfit."

"Ahem, yes ma'am," Finn says. At that Bieste revs her motor and speeds away, and Finn breathes a sigh of relief.

"Well she seems just lovely," Rachel says sincerely.

"Alright, time to go," Finn says revving his motor and heading back to land.

Neither of them know if she'll be able to walk. After he docks the boat he carries her, hoping that he can get home before anybody sees her. She can test out her new legs in his room but it's too risky outside.

"This is so exciting," she says as he carries her toward his house.

"Well I think that's the first time anybody has ever said that about this island, and by the way, don't refer to people as humans, it's weird," Finn explains.

"I'm sorry," she says sheepishly. "I'm just nervous is all."

"It's okay, I'll make sure to go over some things with you before we go out. You have to make sure you don't give anyone any reason to think there's something off about you."

"The last thing I'd ever want is to make trouble for you, I promise I'll be careful."

"It's not me I'm worried about," he says. And she wraps her arms tighter around his neck.

Kurt is most likely in his room, sleeping off the party, Burt is usually at the shop right now opening for business and his mom is working the breakfast shift at the diner so Finn is free to enter his house without being seen, but still he enters through the back door just to be safe.

"I've never been in a house before," she whispers, and he can't help but smile at how she finds wonder in everything, he wishes he knew how to do that. "It's beautiful."

"It's not much," he shrugs, "you should see Santana Lopez's house."

"Ooh, can I?"

"She's certain to throw a big party sometime while you're here," he says. "You'll be my plus one." And at that he enters his room and shuts the door with his foot.

"You're room is amazing, Finn, who are the scantily dressed men with the white faces? Are they wizards like in your Potter stories?"

"No that's Kiss, the band."

"Oh, I remember. _I'm going to rock and roll all night, and party everyday,_" She sings quietly, and he chuckles.

"And who is that? Do you know her? She's very attractive," she says, pointing at another poster.

"No I don't know her," he says, a little embarrassed about the Brooklyn Decker poster, he reminds himself to take it down while she's sleeping. "Okay, first things first, let's get you something to wear." He sets her down on his bed and goes through his drawers, finally finding his blue button down shirt. "Here you go," he says, tossing it to her. She removes her towel and he blushes, wondering if he'll ever get used to seeing her in all of her naked glory.

"Thank you… now how does this work exactly?" she says, looking at the shirt confusedly. And he tries not to chuckle.

"Put your arms up," he says softly, and she obliges, and he lowers the shirt onto her body, she's so tiny that he doesn't even need to unbutton it. "That'll do until we can get you some girl clothes."

"I love it, it smells like you," she says affectionately. And he bends down to kiss her. He's still afraid of what all of this will mean for her, but for now he's so happy just to be with her.

"Alright, do you want to try walking?" he says as he breaks the kiss.

"I don't know, do you think I can?"

"I think if you can learn human languages through touch and track people you kiss by thinking about them then you can probably figure out walking," he reaches out for her hands and she takes his and he leads her up from his bed, slowly backing up toward the far wall while she clumsily walks with him, putting one tiny foot in front of the other. He's shocked by how small she is, it's the first time she's ever stood and he towers over her by an entire foot.

"Good, that's so good Rachel," he says excitedly.

"I'm doing it, I'm walking!" she says, beaming.

"Okay, careful, take your time," He says.

"Let go Finn," she says eagerly.

"Already? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, let me go." So he does, and she's on her feet for five seconds before she hits the floor.

"Oh my God, Rachel are you okay?" he says, concerned, kneeling down beside her.

"That was fun," she says giddily. "Let's do it again!"


	4. Being Human

"No eating raw fish, unless it's in sushi you have to eat it cooked."

"Mmm hmm," She says, deep in concentration.

"And remember, when we go shop for clothes we have to give them money, they don't just give away dresses for free, or anything for that matter."

"Humans and your money, from what I hear your lives would be much simpler without it," she scoffs as she makes her way back and forth across the room.

"Tell me about it," he agrees, "I sometimes feel like everyone is one bad fishing month away from setting their houses on fire."

"They wouldn't actually do that would they?" She asks worriedly.

"No," he says smiling and shaking his head. "We're a tough group."

She continues to walk back and forth across the room. She's been at it for three hours and she seems to have gotten the hang of it, and all along he's been going over the rules with her, no referring to people as humans, no looking at ordinary objects with starry eyed wonder, no nudity in public, etc. He hates that she has to hide a lot of the things he loves about her in order to stay inconspicuous, but it's a sacrifice she has to make to stay safe. She already knows a lot thanks to her reading, but certain things still elude her and he has to make sure she gets it right.

She's still a little wobbly in her gait, but not so much that anyone would take notice if they weren't closely looking for something out of the ordinary, they're good legs that she's been given. She has a stack of books on her head now and she's trying to balance them, and he tries not to laugh but it's hard because she's just beyond adorable and it dawns on him again that she's in his room and she's human, with human parts that he badly wants to be inside of, but he won't think about that. She doesn't even fully understand what human sex is, and he doesn't want to freak her out.

She groans as the books tumble to the ground. "I'm never going to be able to do this."

"Well, luckily most humans don't walk around with books on their heads," Finn jokes. "You walk great without them."

She smiles a little. "Well, that's good to know."

Finn glances at his watch, it's 10:30, he lets out a soft sigh. In his frenzy this morning he forget all about work, he has to be at the diner at twelve to start the lunch shift and he can't very well leave her alone. It's time to take her out, he didn't expect it to come so fast and he hopes she's ready.

"Stay here, I'm going to go raid my mom's room, you're going to need shoes."

"Why?" Rachel said.

"Well, I'm working today and I thought that maybe you could come hang out with me, if we leave now we can get you something to wear."

"Ooh, what the humans call shopping, I'm so excited!" She says, clapping a little.

"And remember what we talked about, that kind of things only okay around me," he says sternly.

"I'm aware," she says.

"Okay, I'll be right back," he says, leaving her with a kiss. He enters his mom and Burt's room and goes for a pair of flip flops, his mom's feet are bigger than Rachel's but the shoes should do fine in a pinch. He also grabs a scarf from her coat rack before heading back to his room. He's surprised that he doesn't hear any signs of Kurt, but he decides to count it as pure luck.

"Okay, give me your foot," Finn says, crouching in front of her. She must have never heard the expression before because there is a look of mild confusion on her face.

"No, not like that," he says, waving his hands frantically. "I just want to put your shoes on."

"Oh, that's what your people call 'just an expression'" she says bashfully.

"Exactly," he assures her.

She puts her hands on his shoulders for balance and steadily lifts one of her feet. He places one shoe on and then the other. He stands up then and ties the flowered scarf around her waist, and lastly he rolls up her sleeves to the elbow, the finished result looks more or less like a bathing suit cover, which is fine for now. Good thing he learned some style tips from Kurt, even if he never really meant to.

"How do I look?" she says, posing.

"Beautiful," he says sincerely, giving her a crooked smile. "You're always beautiful."

She smiles and takes his hand. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she says.

"Alright, babe, time to experience a bit of the world."

* * *

><p>The trek to Sandy's boutique goes off without a hitch, she only trips over her feet twice, but with Finn's hand grasped firmly in hers she doesn't fall on her face, and she greets everyone she passes with healthy exuberance. He's met just about everyone on the island at one time or another, but nobody he passes is acquainted with him well enough to care about his romantic situation. But he still has to bring her to the diner, which means no avoiding his mother. That's going to be tricky no matter how he plays it. His mother, like everyone else believes that he has a long distance girlfriend he met online, but he knows that she never expected to meet her so soon, if at all, and she's bound to ask questions. His mother worries about him sometimes, he knows that. She had caught him sneaking out over the years a few times and although he was usually able to come up with a good enough excuse to avoid therapy if not a grounding, part of her knows that Finn has his secrets from her. He just hopes that finally meeting Rachel will do more good for her suspicions than not.<p>

He enters the boutique and stops short, letting go of Rachel's hand.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr. Party boy?" Kurt says, putting down his magazine.

"Kurt," Finn says nervously. "I didn't know you were working today. I didn't even hear you leave this morning."

"Were you listening for me leaving this morning for some reason?" Kurt says.

"No, nothing like that," Finn lies.

"I came from Blaine's, I spent the night there," Kurt explains.

"Ah," Finn says.

"Who are you?" Kurt asks Rachel.

"I'm Rachel, and you must be Kurt," She says brightly. "It's wonderful to meet you."

"Wait, Rachel, from Atlanta?" Kurt asks, "She's real?"

"Yes, and she's visiting for the week," Finn says, trying to keep his cool. He was hoping to avoid running into any friends or family for awhile, but he figures it was bound to happen sooner or later. "The airline, they lost her luggage so I thought I'd buy her something to wear until they sort everything out."

Kurt narrows his eyes at him suspiciously. "There are no commercial flights to McKinley Island."

_Crap_, Finn thinks silently to himself, he knew that, but being on the spot like that makes it hard to tell a plausible lie.

"Yeah, the flight was to Providence, she took a boat over." He says with a bit of hesitation, impressed with himself, Rachel simply nods vigorously and smiles, careful not to incriminate herself.

"Hmm," Kurt finally says, hopping up from his chair. "That's too bad about your luggage, but lucky for you we just got some fabulous new arrivals in, including…" at that he went over to the closest rack and grabbed a short blue sundress.

"That's nice, do you have it in coral?" Finn says, getting a look from Kurt.

"It's just… you look good in coral," Finn says sheepishly to Rachel.

"I positively love the influence I've had on you," Kurt says, "And yes, we do. I'm guessing you're a size 2?" He continues holding it up to her body.

"So pretty," she says touching the gauzy material. "It's the same color as my—

Finn tenses a little, hoping she doesn't say it.

"Shoes," she says, covering her mistake and causing Finn to breath an inward sigh of relief. "I have a pair of shoes this color."

"Well I wouldn't wear them with this dress, you don't want to go too matchy matchy." I recommend these," Kurt says, grabbing a pair of tan gladiator sandals off of the shelf.

"Wow, what about this? It's so soft." She says grabbing a white cardigan with flowers embroidered into it.

"That's great if you're buying it for your grandma," Kurt says snarkily.

"I like it," Finn says shrugging. "Plus it can get kind of chilly at night, you might need it."

"If you insist. I suppose it's not too horrible," Kurt sighs, "Alright let's get you set up in a fitting room."

He hopes that she doesn't ask him what a fitting room is, she doesn't, but he can tell by the look on her face that she's not entirely sure what she's supposed to do, he has to hope for the best, because it would seem odd to go in after her.

"Okay are you going to tell me what's going on?" Kurt whispers over to Finn after Rachel disappears into the fitting room.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Finn says nervously.

"Where you just not going to mention that your little pinpal or whatever she is was coming, did you even discuss this with our parents?"

"Mom knows that I've been seeing someone online." Finn says.

"And I doubt she would approve of her showing up here out of the blue. Your mother has expressed to me several times that she thinks Rachel might be a 47 year old trucker who wants to touch you inappropriately."

"Well she'll probably be relieved to meet her then. She's clearly not a middle aged child molester."

"Tell me the truth Finn, why didn't you tell anyone she was coming? And why is she wearing your shirt? Did she fly here naked?"

"That's not my shirt," Finn says lamely. God why did Kurt have to be working today?

"And I suppose that's not your mom's scarf either?" You know the one I bought her for her birthday last year." He had to think of a lie, any lie, and fast.

"She spilled some coffee on herself at the terminal so I let her borrow my shirt, what's the big deal?"

"But I thought you said it wasn't your shirt—

"What's your obsession with my shirt!" Finn snaps.

"Geez, sorry," Kurt says defensively. "It's just not everyday anything happens around here, that's all."

They stop whispering when she opens the door and steps out of the room, he breathes a sigh of relief when he sees that she has put the outfit on correctly, and she looks nothing short of stunning in it.

"Wow, you look amazing," Finn says quietly.

"I'm inclined to agree," Kurt says, grazing his chin. "Even with the grandma sweater."

"They're beautiful," she says, "Does Sandy make all of these herself? How does she get so many to all look the same? It must be very tiresome work." She says, and Finn can't even be mad at her because she's so excited and curious about everything and he just loves her so much for it, even if it does scare him a little. But it's not as if Kurt's going to call the FBI special unit on her.

"Um no, _he_ gets them from a factory in Boston," Kurt says, "But _I_ actually made this one." He says grabbing a studded, distressed jean jacket from behind the counter. Rachel reaches out and grabs it, staring at it with awe. "I don't think McKinley island's ready for it just yet, but I'm looking very forward to rocking it at the fourth of July festival," Kurt continues.

"It would look very dashing on you Kurt," She says sweetly handing him back the jacket.

"Well aren't you just made of sugar," Kurt says graciously, clearly thawing a bit.

"Is it cool if she just wears it out of the store," Finn says, handing Kurt his credit card.

"Sure," he says, swiping it.

They says their goodbyes to Kurt and head down the road for the Diner, He smiles over at her as she admires her new dress, and he still can't get over how beautiful she looks.

"Now my mom is going to want to know if you came with your parents. I think we should tell her that you came alone."

"Well, it's the truth," she says simply.

"And she's probably going to wonder why I didn't tell her you were coming, so lets just say that we had a fight and I wouldn't return your phonecalls."

"Why wouldn't you return my phonecalls," she says.

"Lets say you kissed another guy."

"Finn I would never kiss another guy," she says, sounding almost offended.

"That's why it's called a lie, just go with it okay?" he says. "Anyway, you decided to make it up to me by flying here to surprise me, which would explain why I didn't know you were coming." He's satisfied with the story, he only wishes he would have thought about it when Kurt was interrogating him.

"Okay, I'm just _going_ with it," she says, trying out the expression.

"And don't worry, I know my mom is going to love you, but if she asks a lot of questions just try to stay cool.

"Stay cool, got it," she says.

The diner is only a block away and they make it there with plenty of time to spare. He squeezes her hand a little tighter, ready to face what was hopefully the biggest obstacle of the day.


	5. She's Just Quirky

They arrive at Fishstix diner at 11:40 giving Finn a bit of down time before work to make sure Rachel isn't on her own in dealing with Carole, his mother is a good woman, the best one he knows, and he knows that Rachel will love her immediately, and the feeling would likely be mutual if the situation were different, but the fact is, her showing up without any sort of warning is going to be a problem. Carole is wiping off the counters when they enter. He doesn't hold Rachel's hand when they go in, he wants to ease her into the situation.

"I hear somebody had an awful good time last night," Carole says sternly. "What excuse could you possibly have for not coming home last night Finn?"

"I slept in my boat," he says truthfully.

"Were you drunk?" Carole says.

"No, I didn't have anything to drink," he says, also truthfully.

"At least Kurt had the decency to call."

"I'm sorry mom."

"I don't know about you sometimes Finn," she says, shaking her head. "Oh, I'm sorry honey, someone will be right with you," she then says to Rachel.

"Actually, um, she's with me." Finn says.

"I'm Rachel," Rachel says extending her hand for Carole to shake, Carole looks appropriately confused as she shakes Rachel's hand.

"Internet girl?" Carole says. "She's real?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Finn says, sighing.

"What brings you to our shores Rachel?" she says a bit suspiciously

"I kissed another guy," Rachel says, and Finn grimaces a little. He was only planning to use that excuse if his mom asked questions about why she came unannounced, but he figures it could be worse.

"Um, ookay," Carole says confused.

"Finn was upset with me because I kissed another guy and he wouldn't return any of my phone calls so I decided to come surprise him, which of course explains why he didn't tell you I was coming. But Don't worry, we made up," she says, grabbing his hand.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened," Finn says, trying not to make things worse. Maybe leaving her at his house wouldn't have been such a bad idea.

"Well, welcome Rachel," she says. "Finn, honey, can I talk to you for a second."

"Okay, um why don't you get seated? I'll be right back," he says, squeezing Rachel's hand

He follows her into the back room, prepared for the third degree

"Okay, start talking," Carole says.

"I didn't know she was coming," Finn says.

"I didn't even know she was real," she says. "And now she's here all of a sudden, it's just a lot to take in Finn."

"I know, I'm sorry to spring this on you, but I was just as surprised as you were."

"Do her parents know she's here?"

"She didn't tell them, anyway she's 18 she can come on go as she pleases," he still doesn't know how old she is, it could very well be true.

"Okay, you mean to tell me that you're dating an 18 year old that you've only just met in person? Do you not see some sort of problem with that?"

"I don't see why it's such a big deal that I met a girl online, lots of people are doing it these days. Besides, I live on an island mom, it's not exactly girl central."

"I know honey, but she kissed someone else, don't you think that's a sign that being involved with an older girl you never see is just a tad unrealistic?"

"She's only a year older, you're three years older than Burt."

"We don't talk about that," she says, shifting her eyes. "Look, I'm just saying, maybe her being here is a good opportunity to sort some things out, I'd be lying if I said the fact that you've never dated any of the girls here doesn't concern me. I mean, you went to prom with Mercedes Jones and had to watch her dance all night with that Evans kid. I just worry about you, that's all."

"I know mom, and I promise you, you're going to love Rachel, she's great, she really is."

"Well I'm sure she is, and I have to admit that it's kind of sweet, her coming all the way here to see you. I look forward to getting to know her." Carole says, touching his cheek. "Now get your apron on, your shift starts in ten."

He exhales as she goes back to work. He expected that to go a lot worse.

When he reenters the diner from the back room after washing his hands and putting on his apron he can't help but smile a little. She's sitting next to old man Abrams who comes in every Saturday at lunch for bouillabaisse and grilled cheese.

"I must say that is the most darling hat I've ever seen," she says of the red fishing cap he always wears. "And I've seen at least five."

"My grandson Artie bought me this hat," the man says. "He's about your age."

"My boyfriend has told me good things, and he clearly has excellent taste in hats sir."

"He's a good boy, you'd like him."

"I'm sure I would," she agrees.

"Are you guys doing alright?" Finn says, coming up to their table.

"I hope you don't mind, I decided to keep Mr. Abrams here company," Rachel says.

"As long as it's okay with you," Finn says to the man, who nods and smiles. "You can order whatever you want Rachel, the clam chowder's really good."

"That sounds lovely, I'll have that," she says, beaming.

"And I'll have—

"Bouillabaisse with a grilled cheese sandwich," Finn says from memory, interrupting Mr. Abrams, and Mr. Abrams nods as Finn scribbles it down on the order slip. "Coming right up," he says and he winks at Rachel and turns toward the kitchen. But as Carole heads to the table he stops short, curious.

"So, Rachel," Carole says, how long do you plan on staying?" Carole says more warmly than he would have expected.

"Well I'd like to see everything, I've never been to an island before," Rachel says.

"Trust me, there's not much to see," Carole says.

"I like it here," Rachel says, "And I adore your son," she continues, looking at Finn who smiles at her. "I think I would be happy to stay awhile."

"Well you must come to dinner tomorrow night, I'm making three bean chili. We can all get to know each other better."

"I'd love to," Rachel beams, and Finn decides that this is okay, and goes to the kitchen to put in their order.

* * *

><p>Finn walks hand in hand with Rachel from the diner, his shift ended at six, and he's not really surprised that she didn't get bored, she read the newspaper and sat next to everyone who came alone and nobody took any issue with it, even if her constant talking was a little overwhelming to some. He tried to keep an eye on her as he waited tables and although he couldn't watch her constantly she didn't appear to have any major slip-ups. He's proud of her, she was perfect.<p>

"So where are we going now?" She says giddily.

"Well you know how you liked those Harry Potter books we read together?" He says.

"Oh yes, I liked those very much," she says.

"Well I thought you might want to see it in real life."

"You mean…"

"Yes."

"A movie, an actual movie on a giant screen?" she says, her eyes wide.

"Yup, at the only theater in town, and You'll get to meet some of my friends. Kurt will be there, and his boyfriend Blaine and My friends Quinn and…"

"Oh my goodness, this is so exciting," she says, interrupting. "A movie, a real movie, from what you've told me about them they are quite the exciting form of entertainment."

"Yeah, just as long as you avoid anything with Kristen Stewart," he warns.

"Finn! Wait up." He recognizes the voice behind him, he's been waiting for this, finally he can make Puckerman eat his words.

"Hey Puck," Finn says, turning to meet him.

"Hey, who's the hottie?" Puck says, looking Rachel up and down.

"I'm Rachel,"she says," extending her hand for him to shake.

"Rachel from Atlanta?" Puck says. "She's r—

"Yes she's real," Finn says exasperatedly. "She came to visit me."

"Alright, my mistake," Puck says. "It's nice to meet you Rachel, I'm Noah Puckerman."

At the mention of his full name she yanks her hand away and slaps him across the face, a look of anger in her glowing brown eyes.

"What the hell!" Puck says, rubbing his cheek.

"Rachel, why would you do that?" Finn says frantically.

"I know about you Noah Puckerman," She says, pointing her finger at him sternly. "I've heard the stories, and I think it's absolutely deplorable what you did to that poor Abrams boy, lifting him up a flagpole by his undergarments is no way to treat a poor invalid boy who buys lovely hats for his grandfather."

"Is she okay?" Puck says.

"She's fine, it's just… jet lag," Finn says nervously. "Rachel you can't just hit people," he continues, putting his hands on her thin shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"Why? It felt amazing," she beams.

"I know it feels good to hit Puck, I've done it before and it was awesome, but it's still wrong. Besides, that thing with Artie was a long time ago, they're both coming to the movie tonight, they're friends now, we all are."

"I'm sorry. I suppose I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay baby," he says, hugging her. "You have to apologize though."

"I'm very sorry for hitting you Noah," She says, breaking from Finn's embrace and facing him. And he still looks entirely confused.

"Yeah, it's fine, I guess," Puck says still a little warily. "I'm kind of used to women hitting me."

"So, shall we proceed to the movie?" Rachel says linking arms with them both.

* * *

><p>He knew that she would love the movie, but he had no idea how much she would love it, she screamed during the scary moments, cried profusely during the sad ones and had to be shushed at least five times for talking to the screen. Finn was luckily able to keep her from going too far with a mild nudge here and a silencing kiss there. In spite of himself he was happy to see her so excited, and the others seemed more amused than anything, he supposed there was worse things than his friends thinking she was no ordinary girl. Annoying movie talker didn't automatically mean creature from another realm.<p>

"That was amazing," Rachel says as they leave the theater. "When Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter were battling at the end I almost dropped my popped corn."

"Eh, the book was better," Artie says shrugging.

"You say that about every one dude, why do you even see the movies?" Puck says.

"So Rachel," Quinn says. "Tell us about yourself, we've all heard great things," there's something almost accusatory in her tone, but Rachel thinks nothing of it.

"Well, I come from Atlanta, I'm going to study music in the fall," They discussed a backstory that fit in with her made up age and he's happy that she remembers to use it.

"Music, really?" Quinn says. "Do you play an instrument?"

"I sing," Rachel says.

"Well we have something in common, we all met in glee club," Blaine says.

"Finn told me," Rachel says. "It sounds like so much fun, I would love to belong to a club where everyone sings.

"Your high school didn't have a glee club?" Kurt says.

"No, I had to teach myself to sing," Rachel says truthfully.

"Well let's hear what you can do," Kurt says. "I'm sure you sound just fine regardless of the lack of training."

"Finn, should I, would people find that weird?" she says quietly to him.

There's no one else around and even if there was, singing in public wasn't so strange especially since they requested it. "You know what?" Finn says charmed by her sweet face, "Go for it."

She squeals a little and prepares herself to sing, and he has a feeling he knows the song, it was always her favorite of his Ipod tracks.

_You know I'm a dreamer_  
><em>But my heart's of gold<em>  
><em>I had to run away high<em>  
><em>So, I wouldn't come home low<em>

_Just when things went right_  
><em>Doesn't mean they're always wrong<em>  
><em>Just take this song and you'll never feel<em>  
><em>Left all alone<em>

_Take me to your heart_  
><em>Feel me in your bones<em>  
><em>Just one more night<em>  
><em>And I'm comin' off this<em>  
><em>Long and winding road<em>

_I'm on my way, I'm on my way_  
><em>Home sweet home, tonight tonight<em>  
><em>I'm on my way, I'm on my way<em>  
><em>Home sweet home<em>

_You know that I've seen_  
><em>Too many romantic dreams<em>  
><em>Up in lights, fallin' off<em>  
><em>The silver screen<em>

_My heart's like an open book_  
><em>For the whole world to read<em>  
><em>Sometime, nothing keeps me together<em>  
><em>At the seams<em>

_I'm on my way, I'm on my way_  
><em>Home sweet home, tonight tonight<em>  
><em>I'm on my way, just set me free<em>  
><em>Home sweet home<em>

_Home sweet home_  
><em>Home sweet home<em>  
><em>Home sweet home<em>

_Ooh, I'm on my way, I'm on my way_  
><em>Home sweet home, yeah<em>  
><em>I'm on my way, just set me free<em>  
><em>Home sweet home<em>

When she finishes they're all speechless, beyond speechless.

"Amazing, truly," Blaine says finally. "I'm impressed."

"Damn girl," Artie says. "You are one hell of a good teacher."

"With pretty badass taste in music," Puck chimes in. "Usually chicks are only into Katy Perry."

"Well, I learned it from Finn," she says taking his hand.

"Well you have to do some Broadway standards before you leave," Kurt says. "I bet you'd tear the Les Mis album a new one with that voice of yours."

"Les Mis?" Rachel says. "Is that a band?"

And Kurt stops short, stunned. "How is it that you've never heard of Les Mis?"

She simply shrugs.

"Chicago? Cabaret? Phantom?" Kurt continues, only to be met with a blank stare. "Wicked?"

"Oh yes, Finn has the Wicked soundtrack on his Ipod, it's lovely."

"Yeah it was a birthday present," Kurt says. "So you're telling me you've never heard of any of those plays?" Kurt looks confused and Finn is a bit wary now, he has to change the subject.

"So are any of you guys hungry?" Finn says, "I'm starving."

"Hold on Finn, we have an emergency here, your girl is practically a Broadway virgin, we have to fix this immediately, come over tomorrow, we'll have a marathon, I have all the bootleg DVDs."

"That sounds just wonderful Kurt," Rachel says excitedly. "Can we have popped corn?"

"It's popcorn, and yes," Kurt says.

"Well I'm coming too," Blaine says, "It can be a double date."

"Sounds awesome," Finn says. They continue to walk and Finn squeezes Rachel's hand, he loves her so much, so so much. But they think she's strange, he can see it in their eyes, especially Quinn who has barely said a word, she only looks suspicious, maybe a bit jealous but mostly suspicious. She is strange, but it will be okay, he'll protect her no matter what. He has to, but he can't help but think that he didn't prepare them enough for this, and that feeling hits him tenfold the second the automatic sprinklers come on to water the grass that lines the sidewalk, splashing her bare legs in the process.


	6. Sex Ed

**Yay, quick update this time, slow week for homework/actual work.**

She cries in his arms, silently as she can, because nobody can know that she's there. And he rubs her back soothingly, telling her that everything is going to be alright, that they'll figure it out. They were relieved at first, when the water hit her and she didn't change, it was a good thing, it would have been a disaster if Finn were right about the water turning her back, but after separating from his friends following the unenviable task of explaining why Rachel freaked out so much over the sprinklers they both got to thinking, if it wasn't the water then what was it? It was the only idea he had and it was shot to hell in an instant. Maybe the myth was right, maybe she would be stuck this way forever. And when the thought of it hit her she couldn't control the wave of emotions that crashed over her, sadness for the family that she had lost, fear for the new life she was forced to lead, guilt over not being thrilled at the prospect of Finn being all she had in the world. She cries all night, cries until they both fall asleep.

He jerks awake, somehow knowing that something is wrong. She's not there, she's not there next to him, and his breath seizes and his pulse starts to race. She was upset, she was more upset than he had ever seen her, but she wouldn't run away would she? He jumps out of bed frantically and checks the clock, it's 3 am, hours before anyone has to wake up to start their day, so if she's in the house somewhere chances are nobody has seen her, still, that's not a risk they can afford to take. She's not in the house, but she's close by, he doesn't understand how he knows that, how he always seems to know. The shed, it's the first place he thinks to look, it's kind of random, but he grabs his flashlight and decides it's worth a shot. He leaves the house from the back door and finds it, the door is slightly open and the water hose is unspooled and the end of it is going into it for some reason. He opens the door hesitantly and shines his light into it. She's sitting in his old kiddie pool, her knees pulled to her chest, and she's crying and his heart breaks for her in an instant.

"Rachel," he says scrambling over to her and hugging her. "You can't leave my room unless nobody else is in the house, you know that."

"I'm sorry Finn, I couldn't sleep," she says quietly.

"It's okay," he says, stroking her wet hair. "Are you alright?"

She shakes her head no. "I thought it might work if I soaked them awhile."

"How long have you been here?"

"Since your bedside clock read 2," an hour, he thinks silently. "I like it here, I really do… but."

"But what?" he says, even though he already knows.

"I never thought that this was forever, I guess I knew deep down that water wouldn't change me back, but just to have that small sliver of hope, I could just love being with you, on land, on this island without having to deal with the fact that I'd never see my family again," she says miserably. "I tricked myself into believing I could just change back whenever I wanted if I followed certain rules, but I don't even know what the rules are."

"Look, just because the water didn't work doesn't mean nothing will, I mean, maybe you actually have to be in the ocean."

"Do you really believe that?" she says quietly.

He hesitates and his face becomes sad.

"No," he finally says, defeated. And she continues to cry bitterly.

"Listen Rachel," he continues, once again hugging her tiny, wet, naked body to him. "There's something I want you to know, something I've known for a really long time but have never said, because I guess I thought it kind of went without saying."

"What's that?" she says softly, looking down at her possibly permanent legs.

He gently grabs her chin and forces her to look him in the eye. Then he places his hands on her shoulders.

"I love you," he finally says, his voice breaking.

And at that she smiles through her tears at him. "You love me?"

"Very much," he insists. "And do you know what that means?"

She shakes her head.

"It means that I'll always take care of you, no matter what happens. Because when you love someone the way that I love you they become like your family, and you're my family, and I know that it doesn't make up for you losing yours, but if you let me I'd like to be a family for you Rachel, I want to show you everything and take you everywhere just like I promised, I want to be that for you."

She smiles at him and kisses him, a long, tender kiss, and he can taste her tears and they taste like the ocean. "You are my family," she says. And she rests her wet head on his shoulder and he kisses the top of her head softly. "I love you Finn."

* * *

><p>She seems a lot better when they wake up in the morning, but he's still a little mixed up. He doesn't really know where to go from here. Rachel has no family, no past, not even a last name, as far as the rest of the world is concerned she doesn't exist. How will she go to school or get a job? She can live with him of course, when he moves out of his mom's house, but who knows when that is going to be? Will he be able to smuggle her into his dorm room when he goes to college? There is one option, but there's no way in hell it won't result in him being committed, he could tell his parents the truth. They can help her, but there's no way to prove where she came from, and even if he could it would be way too much for them to deal with. But he told her that he would take care of her and he meant it, somehow he'll find a way. He just has to think.<p>

"Good morning Finn," She says brightly as he wakes up.

"Hi, how are you holding up?" he says sleepily.

"I'm better," she says, crawling over to him and kissing him softly. "I'm going to miss my family, but I've been waiting for an opportunity like this my entire life, I have to take the good with the bad, and who knows, maybe I will be able to go home one day if only for awhile, but until then I've chosen to embrace my fate and live my new life to the fullest."

"That's good," he says, happy that she seems so positive again. "You know, I've been thinking about how we're going to make this work, you being human and everything."

"I've been thinking about that too," she says.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, and there are some things I want to ask you," she says, seriously.

"Okay, go ahead, ask me anything."

"Well, first of all some of the things your friends were talking about while we waited in line for the movie were very confusing to me, I didn't ask any questions because I didn't want to seem odd but they've stuck with me."

"What confused you?"

"Well Noah was talking about boning a girl, what does that mean? I didn't think that humans could survive without bones. It just seems very unlikely to me."

His face grows hot, he was afraid that this conversation would come up eventually, they never read anything too adult for the sole purpose of not having to talk about it. But he didn't want to lie to her and she had to know about these things if she was going to stay human.

"Well boning is another term for…" he clears his throat nervously and shifts his eyes. "Um, human… sex," he says the last part so quietly she can barely make it out.

"Oh, sex, that's how humans have children correct?"

"Yeah."

"But it seems odd that Noah would want to have children, he seems so young."

"Well humans don't only have sex to have children. It's like kissing, we also have sex because it feels good when you do it with someone you love."

"So, why have we never had sex?" she says confusedly. "We love each other and we kiss all of the time, it seems like something we should have done by now."

He doesn't know how to answer that, well he knows how to answer it, but not without feeling horribly awkward about it.

"Well, um, before you became human, we kind of couldn't."

"Why?" she asks, and he only feels more awkward.

"Well that thing that you have down there, that's sort of what that's for."

"Oh," she says, looking down, she's wearing his shirt and boxers but he guesses it's an instinctive thing. "So, how do we do it?" she continues, almost excitedly. Oh my god, he thinks to himself, she actually wants to do this, and he wants to too, but she doesn't understand how it works, how important it is, to her it's the same thing as a kiss, and he doesn't want to take advantage of her. How the hell is he going to get out of this?

"Finn Honey, breakfast," His mother calls from downstairs, and all he can think is thank god.

"Look we'll talk more about this when I come back," he says, kissing her. And he takes his remote and clicks on his TV and then hands the remote to her. "Press this button to change the pictures on the screen. It's like movies only smaller."

"Oh, that sounds delightful," she says, pressing the button.

"Don't forget to lock yourself in," he says before leaving.

* * *

><p>He drags his feet on the way back to his room after breakfast hoping she's forgotten about the sex thing.<p>

"I brought you some pop-tarts," he says, closing the door and handing her the warm pastries.

"Finn do you know that all of the people on your television speak of nothing but sex?" she says excitedly, placing the plate aside. "It sounds like great fun."

So much for her forgetting about it, and here he thought basic cable in the daytime would be safe.

"Yeah, well, that's what I've heard," he says nervously.

"I think that we should do it," she says assuredly, turning toward him. "Tell me what to do."

He sighs and takes the remote from her, turning off his television and sitting down on the bed. It's his responsibility to help her find her place in the world and he figures this is as good a place as any to start, even if the very idea makes him extremely uncomfortable.

"Okay Rachel," he finally says after a deep breath. "The thing is, sex is kind of a much bigger deal than kissing is. A lot of girls don't want to do it the first time right away because…"

"Because what?" She says.

"Well for one thing, the very first time girls do it, it hurts," he says carefully. "I mean it feels good after they do it enough times but there's always that pain the first time, or so I hear."

"I can handle a bit of pain Finn," she says, undeterred.

"And there's also the thing about having children," Finn says. "Humans have invented ways to have sex without having children but there's always a risk."

"You mean condoms?" she says, and he looks at her, perplexed. "They talked about them on the television," she explains.

"Yes, I'm talking about condoms, among other things."

"But if you use them correctly they work far more often than not right?"

"Well yeah but…"

"So then we'll just be careful, the man called Ross Gellar seems to think it's well worth the risk and he appears to be quite intelligent," she says.

"Rachel, are you sure you want to do this?" he says.

"If you don't want to then…"

"No I do, I really do," he says almost frantically. "I just don't want to make you do something you're not ready for."

"I love you Finn," she says, putting her hands on his shoulders. "And you're not making me do anything. If I'm going to be human then I want to experience everything that it means to be human, and I want to experience those things with you. I just need you to teach me, the way you taught me everything else."

He looks into her deep, soulful eyes and knows without a doubt that there's nobody else that he would ever want to make love to, and he combs her hair back behind her ear and leans in to kiss her tenderly.

"Alright," he whispers into her mouth as he breaks the kiss.

"Okay," she says excitedly. "What do we do Finn?"

"Well," he says, scratching his head in contemplation, before deciding that it's probably just better to show her. He stands up in front of her and hesitantly starts to undo the drawstring on his pajama pants. He blushes deep red as he slides them down and becomes slightly amused at the sight of her face when he finally shows it to her. "The way that sex works is… I have to put this thing in that thing," he says pointing between their respective private areas. "And then I kind of move up and down until we start to feel kind of tingly all over," he would make the worst sex ed teacher in the world he thinks silently to himself.

"Oh," she says, nodding. "That sounds simple enough."

"He pulls his pants back up and sits next to her, looking into her eyes and growing a little more comfortable with each syllable, "And we do other things at the same time, like we kiss and we touch each other's bodies." She's nodding all along, understanding. "And it ends when you feel this sort of electricity shooting through your whole body, you feel it everywhere, in your toes and in your heart and it's amazing, and you get sort of tired afterward but it's worth it."

"You sound like you've done this before," she says, knitting her brow suspiciously.

"Well, not with another person," he says sheepishly. "But I'll explain that another time."

"So do you want to do it now?" she says.

"Well there are other people in the house right now but my mom is going to work in a few minutes and Kurt is going to the store to buy some snacks for your Broadway marathon, so we can do it then."

"Why can't there be other people in the house?" she says.

"Well nobody can know that you're here, as far as my mom's concerned you're at the hotel, and when people have sex sometimes they make a lot of noise, not because they mean to, it just sort of happens."

"Okay, then I suppose we can wait," she says. And she turns the television back on and rests her head on his shoulder as she begins to eat her pop tart. He can't believe that this is going to happen. His heart is pounding like crazy and his palms are sweaty but she doesn't seem nervous at all. Should he feel bad about this? He thinks to himself, then he pushes the thought away, he'll be careful, he'll try his absolute best to make it not suck for her, because there's no way that it will be anything but amazing for him. He's wanted this for so long and for the first time it's actually possible, in fact in spite of the hard road that inevitably lies ahead, he kind of feels like anything is possible.

**Okay, should I change this to an M story for the next chapter? It's about mermaids so I was trying to avoid making it too adult, but I kind of feel like it's going that way, even the title kind of has adult connotations (google it). So let me know what you think. And yes I will explain why Rachel turned human and whether or not she can turn back. Stay tuned!**


	7. Discovering You

His heart is pounding, and he doesn't think his palms have ever been this sweaty before, and his breathing is shallow and she's giving him this look and it makes it all so much worse. He's never wanted anyone this much. It's scary how much he wants her. He discreetly wipes his hand on his pants and brings them up to cup her face and kisses her lips, his own trembling like mad.

"Finn, you're shaking." she says quietly into his mouth.

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm just nervous," he says

"This really is a big deal isn't it?" she says.

"It's a huge deal," he says. "I just, and not to sound like a girl but I just want it to be perfect."

She takes his hand in hers and puts it over her heart."Do you feel that?" she says.

"Yeah," he says, noticing its mile a minute pace.

"That's how I felt the first time that I kissed you Finn, only now it's so much more potent. I think I'm nervous too."

"You don't seem nervous," he said.

"I guess I just don't know how to show it. It's not an emotion we like to flaunt where I come from."

"We don't here either, it's just kind of hard to help it sometimes," he says sheepishly. "Times like this."

She smiles, kisses him softly and runs her lips away from his and along his jaw and down to his neck, making his breath seize and goosebumps rise up on his arms.

"Finn," she whispers into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine. "Can I see you? All of you?"

"Okay," he says quietly, and he tentatively stands up in front of her and pulls his top over his head and pulls down his pants. She blushes a little at the sight of him, it's the first time he's ever been completely naked in front of her, and he feels naked, he can't remember if he's ever felt this vulnerable before and he wonders silently if she feels the same. She rises up on her knees and shifts toward him and grabs him by the hips and inches him closer to the edge of his bed.

"I like your body," she says giggling a bit, and she runs her small hands over his shoulders and chest and the smooth expanse of his stomach. He's never thought much of his body, he's always thought it was big and awkward and entirely too pale and freckly for someone who spends so much time in the sun, but she thinks it's the most beautiful thing she has ever seen, and he turns the corner of his lips up into an appreciative half-smile.

"It's not as cute as yours," he says bashfully.

"Can I touch you? Right there?" she asks, glancing down.

He feels like his mouth is filled with peanut butter, he can't manage any words so he simply nods. She smiles and wraps her hand around him with no hesitation, and his body tenses a bit at the contact.

"It's very warm," she says, still touching it. "It's like a sea cucumber only warm and dry." He shrugs, he supposes there are worse things for her to compare his penis to. "Will it fit?" she continues. God she's awesome.

"Yeah," he says, leaning in to kiss her as she continues to touch him, making him ache. "It'll fit." She then removes her hand and wraps her arms around him, crushing her tiny, clothed body into his large naked one, and he does the same, holding her close and kissing her deeply.

"I feel a sort of tingle," she says, as their lips part, giggling a bit, "And I feel as if I'm leaking, is that meant to happen before..."

"Before sex?" he says, finishing her sentence. "Yeah, that's totally normal."

"Good, I like the way it feels," she says and she kisses him again. "Will you lay down on the bed with me now?" she whispers quietly into his mouth.

"The bed? yeah," he says, his voice coming out high pitched and strangled. And she lies down, pulling him on top of her, letting him kiss her, and she slips her tongue into his mouth and caresses it against his.

"Finn," she says, breaking the kiss. "I trust you."

"I love you," he says looking deep into her eyes. "I would never hurt you, ever."

"I know," she says. He continues to kiss her on her mouth and on her neck, and his hand shakes a bit as he reaches for her boxers. "I'm going to touch you there, is that okay?"

"You can touch me anywhere," she whispers and he takes a deep breath and slides his hand under the waistband of her boxers. Her breath hitches as he finds her, feeling her heat and her wetness. He has no idea how to properly make love to a woman, he figures that's something that will come with practice, but he's looked at enough diagrams to know where the clitoris is. He wants to make her feel something, even if it's not the proper way. he rubs his fingers over it and her breath is becoming shallow and her eyes squeeze shut and she's biting her lip.

"Finn!" she gasps, "Oh my god what's happening?"

"Do you feel that? The way your body just sort of reacts?"

"I feel it," she says. "Keep going, please Finn."

He kisses her mouth as he continues to touch her and she cups the back of his head and kisses him back, her lips are trembling, and he can feel her body quivering under him as he works his hand.

"Yes, oh god yes, keep going," she says between kisses, and she twists her fingers into his hair, pulling it.

"Ow," her exclaims into her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she says, putting her hands over her mouth in mild embarrassment.

"That's okay, he says, chuckling, "I actually kind of liked it," and he removes his hand from under her boxers and begins to unbutton her shirt. She's still panting a little as he opens her shirt, exposing her breasts. He loves her breasts, how perky and firm they are, how they feel under his hands, and he wants to taste them, desperately. He kisses them first, easing her into it, and she giggles a little as he does, and more when he takes her nipple into his mouth, gently sucking her.

"Your fascination with my breasts is very amusing Finn," she says, still giggling.

"What can I say, they're good breasts," he says before continuing his task, taking the other one into his mouth, and her breath hitches again and her body continues to tremble as she feels his teeth and feels his tongue.

"Your mouth feels so different from your hands, does that work in other places too?" she says.

And he thinks she just asked him if he could go down on her.

"Well yeah, I mean if you want I could-"

"Yes, do it, please Finn," she says, cutting him off, and he so wants to. He kisses her breast again and leaves a trail of soft kisses down her stomach until he gets to the waistband of her boxers, she raises her hips and allows him to slide them off. He tosses them to the side and parts her thighs and goes between them, plunging his tongue into her hot center, and she smells and tastes better than he ever could have imagined. She grabs his hair again and arches up off of the bed and pants and moans as he laps her, caressing her with his mouth and tasting the sweet, hot moisture that flows from her. He throbs more and more painfully with each passing moment, and he knows that he'll blow his load any second if he doesn't get to the point soon, not even picturing the time he accidentally impaled that scuba diver is going to stave off his release for very long.

"Oh my god, oh Finn," she exclaims, her voice breathy and strained. "Do it, do it now, please."

"It?" he says, coming up for air, "you mean..."

"Yes, please Finn."so he leaves her and reaches for the condom on his nightstand.

"You really want this?" he says, meeting her gaze again.

She stares deeply into his eyes, her own full of trust and love for him, and she answers "I'm ready," without hesitation.

"Okay, here goes," at that he looks into her eyes once more, her big, innocent eyes that he fell in love with so long ago, and there's still so much that she doesn't know, about his world, and so much that he doesn't know about hers, and as much as he wants her, as much as he aches for her, he knows right then that this is as far as he can go, it's just too much.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry Rachel. I can't do this," he sighs, his head collapsing into the crook of her neck.

"Finn I told you that It's fine, I want to,"she says once again.

"It just, this isn't right," he continues, "it doesn't feel right like this. I mean you're so... I can't..." he can't finish as he notices the disappointed look on her face.

"Finn," she says, her face softening. "If it really means that much to you to wait then I'll wait."

"Really?"

"Of course," she says as he sits up. "In the meantime are there any books about the subject of sexual intercourse I can read? I feel like the more I know about the subject the more likely you'll be willing to put out for me," he gives her a confused look at that point. "It was something else Puck said," she explains.

"Well yeah actually, my mom gave me one when I was fourteen so she wouldn't have to talk to me, I think it covers girl stuff too."

"Okay, well in that case I'll begin reading and when I'm done you'll give yourself to me comepletely," she says confidently, as if making the decision for him, and he truly loves her, more than anything, how could he not?

"I would love nothing more than to give myself to you," Finn jokes, then leans in to kiss her.

"Finn until then will you lie with me, like this?" she says, running a soft hand down his naked torso.

"Yeah, that I can do," They lay back onto the bed, their limbs intertwined as they kiss, and just that, just being next to her with no sex involved at all is like nothing he's ever felt before. It's like he feels so... connected to her and her to him, ever since the first moment they kissed he's felt as if he was tethered to her, like through some type of invisible, supernatural force and he's never understood it, but he's always felt it, so strongly, and it's stronger now than it ever was. But as he closes his eyes relaxing against her, suddenly he's underwater, deep underwater, and it's cold, but it feels good, it feels natural, and he's breathing, he can breath underwater with no trouble at all. He's swimming, swimming upward, higher and higher, effortlessly, until finally he's at the surface. He can feel the rain now, beating down on him, loudly splashing the water around him, and he can hear the lighting crack and the thunder pound and he sees a boat in the distance, it has capsized and is sinking rapidly and there is a boy, a very young boy floating nearby, a very familiar young boy. He is unconscious and floating in his life jacket, his small body being tossed around. And he realizes something. The young boy is him.


	8. Broadway Virgin

He jerks away from her frantically, his heart is racing and his head hurts and he's shaking. What the hell just happened? He thinks to himself, where did he go? He pulls the sheets up over his naked body, feeling suddenly cold and breaths deeply, in and out, trying to set his mind right, trying to make sense of what he just saw.

"Finn?" she says softly, placing her hand on his shoulders, and he flinches a bit, but he's glad to see her next to him. She looks concerned and a bit frightened.

"Rachel, I'm sorry," he says, running his hand over her hair, needing to touch her. "I don't know what happened I just, went somewhere else for a second."

"I know," she says quietly, looking away from him, almost guiltily.

"You know?"

"I didn't think… I mean, you're human I never thought you would…"

"What, what did I do?"

"You saw my memory Finn, you saw inside of me," She says carefully. "It's another way we communicate, we can show each other our memories through a certain… closeness."

"_Our_ memories, you mean…"

"You were fishing, with your mother and you accidentally harpooned a man swimming nearby," she says.

_Oh my god_, he thinks to himself, he never told her that, he never told anybody that.

"Have you been able to do that the whole time?" Finn asks.

"No, I mean I've always had the ability, we're born with it, but that was the first time I've ever experienced it firsthand. I didn't expect it to be so… vivid."

"I know, I felt like I was seeing and feeling everything from your eyes," Finn says. "But if you're human now why can you still see my memories? And why can I see yours? I've been human all along, it doesn't make any sense."

"I don't know Finn," she says, shaking her head.

"Rachel, when we were together, you were thinking about the storm, about me, I saw it."

She gives him a warm smile and places her hand on his cheek and he leans into it. "It was the moment I knew."

"Knew what?"

"That I couldn't let you die, because I loved you," she says. "I knew from the very first moment I saw you."

"So did I," he says. "I didn't understand it but I felt it, and I've felt it grow stronger every day since."

She scoots up to him and lets herself fall into his embrace. "Finn, can I ask you something?" She says, her chin resting on his shoulder.

"Sure, anything," he says.

"Why were you thinking about impaling a scuba diver when we were together?"

"You know, it was just one of those random things," he says, backtracking.

"Finn! I'm back, is the Broadway virgin here yet?" As they hear Kurt's voice bellow from the kitchen they part from each other and Finn scrambles out of bed frantically and starts putting on clothes, any clothes that he can find, and Rachel follows suit, putting on her coral dress, still the only piece of clothing she owns.

"That was certainly fast," Rachel says.

"Okay when we see Kurt just act natural okay?" Finn says, tossing Rachel her sandals.

"Act natural, got it," she says, putting them on.

Once dressed he meets Rachel's side and takes her hand. He takes one deep breath before opening his door and exiting the room with Rachel and going to meet Kurt in the kitchen.

"Hey Kurt," Finn says casually as they enter the Kitchen.

"Why hello you two," Kurt says. "What were you guys up to?"

Finn simply shrugs "Noth—

"We were going to have sex but we decided against it," Rachel says nonchalantly, and Finn's face burns in embarrassment. "Finn wasn't ready."

"Wow," Kurt says, raising his eyebrows at them. "Thanks for sharing," he continues sarcastically.

"You're welcome." she continues. "I'm looking forward to when he is, he says it won't be very good but I'm sure he's not giving himself enough cred-

"Okay Rachel," Finn says nervously, cutting her off. "Let's see what Kurt brought for us."

"Ooh, goodie," Rachel says going through Kurt's grocery bag.

"Your girlfriend's weird," Kurt whispers over to Finn. "I kind of like her."

"Yeah," Finn whispers back. "Me too."

"So, where's Blaine?" Rachel says.

"He should be here any minute," Kurt says. "He started on his hair at dawn and it's one now so he should be almost done."

"You're one to talk," Finn says, "you won't even go out to turn on the sprinklers until your hair is perfect."

"And that's why me and Blaine are such a good couple," Kurt says. "Speaking of style why my dear are you wearing that dress again?"

"Oh, still no sign of her luggage," Finn says.

"Perhaps we can go shopping again Finn, it was so much fun last time," Rachel says giddily.

"Oh please Rachel, I love my stepbrother but even with my mild influence shopping with him is still a lot like hunting with Woody Harrelson," Kurt says cattily. "You want the full experience you shop with me, it'll change your life."

"Okay, how about tomorrow?"

"Good you can get a new outfit for Summer Fling on Friday, you know in case your stuff doesn't show up by then."

"Summer fling, is that some sort of party?" Rachel says.

"Barely, it's more like a carnival without any rides, thus defeating the entire purpose, but that's island life for you," Kurt says shrugging.

"Trust me you'll have fun," Finn says. "I'll win you a giant teddy bear."

"Hello crazy kids," Blaine says, letting himself in.

"Hi Blaine," Rachel says excitedly. "I must say your hair looks fantastic, definitely worth the several hours you spent on it."

Blaine stops short, his expression hard to read, and Finn and Kurt try not to laugh, to no avail. "So I see Kurt's been telling hair jokes again has he?" Blaine says, amused, breaking the awkward silence. "By the way babe I hope all of those style tips you can't understand are worth the 27 dollars you spend every month ordering Italian Vogue online."

"Worth every penny," Kurt says, kissing his boyfriend.

* * *

><p>Watching Phantom of the Opera is the total opposite of watching Harry Potter, she doesn't say a single word, only stares in awe at the screen, almost unblinking, and every time Kurt or Blaine try to comment she shushes them violently. It's like she's hypnotized, she's never been so quiet for so long before, but her eyes say it all. She's falling in love, every minute that passes by she's falling deeper and deeper in love, and so is Finn, only with her and not what's going on on their television set. He's grateful to Kurt, there's only so much that he can show Rachel himself and he wants her to experience everything that the world has to offer her.<p>

They all flinch as she breaks into applause at the end, her face tracked with tears. "That was so… that was so…" and she can't finish she only cries harder.

"So I guess that means you liked it?" Kurt says, pleased.

"Liked it?" Rachel says. "How did I live my entire life without ever seeing that?"

"Well if you liked that you're going to love Les Mis," Kurt says, taking out the second DVD.

"Finn I have so many feelings," She says, sniffling. "Can you hold me?"

"Sure babe," Finn says, smiling, and he puts one arm around her, and he can't stop smiling, because seeing her so happy makes him beyond happy.

She has the same reaction to every one, the tears, the inability to tear her eyes away from the screen, the jarring applause at the end, and it's pretty amusing for the rest of them. Finn wonders silently if they know something is up. He knows that neither of them are thinking that she must have spent the majority of her life under the sea but he's sure they know it's something. He just hopes that they continue to love her in spite of it all, because they certainly seem to.

"What's next?" She says as Cabaret comes to an end.

"Dinner," Finn says, checking his watch. "My mom and Burt should be back any second."

"Burt, your stepfather, oh I can't wait to meet him," Rachel says.

"Did anybody ever tell you that you're excited about… everything?" Blaine says.

"That's just because everything is so exciting," Rachel says. "Come on Finn, let's go wait outside for them," she says, dragging Finn out by the wrist.

* * *

><p>Finn has never liked family dinners much, he prefers the nights when they all gather in front of the TV and absentmindedly pick at their meals. Sitting around a table and trying to force small talk always feels awkward, especially when he gets into talking about sports with Burt, and Kurt and Carole remain quiet all night and he has to apologize for leaving them out of the conversation. Tonight is different though, there is plenty to talk about.<p>

"So I hear you're quite the singer," Burt says to Rachel.

"Oh yes," Rachel says. "Where I come from everybody loves to sing, it's as if it's the only way we make any noise." They think it's a cute joke, but Finn knows she means it, the only sound mermaids make is in song, it's the only way they can hear each other underwater, otherwise they communicate entirely through telepathy.

"Yeah, the south definitely has some great music, it's the birthplace of Jazz," Burt says.

"You like Jazz?" Rachel says.

"Well not exactly," Burt says. "I'm pretty exclusively committed to my Mellencamp collection but I can certainly appreciate it."

"So where are you going to college Rachel?" Carole says. "I hear you're going to be studying music."

"Yeah you never told us that," Kurt says. And Finn freaks out a bit on the inside because they didn't discuss what college she was supposedly attending.

"Well, I haven't decided that yet," Rachel says, stammering a little but speaking convincingly enough.

"So are you going to take a year off, do some traveling?" Burt says.

"I do love to travel, I just got back from Australia actually," Rachel says.

"Really?" Kurt says. "Oh my god I've always wanted to go there."

"You never told me that," Finn says.

"I have a life outside of you Finn," Kurt says coolly. "But seriously, birthplace of Hugh Jackman? Buy me a one-way ticket please."

"You know he's probably not going to actually be there right?" Blaine says.

"I can Dream," Kurt says, shrugging.

"You know where I've always wanted to go?" Finn says, happy that the conversation has gone on a different tangent. "Cooperstown."

"In New York?" Burt says.

"Wow, dream big Finn," Kurt says sarcastically.

"I didn't even know you liked baseball," Burt says.

"Finn likes anything with balls, no homo," Kurt says, getting a playful elbowing from Blaine.

"Nice," Finn says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "But yeah, I know I don't play competitively or anything but I just like the idea of it, you know, family, community, Americana, all of that corny stuff," he continues sheepishly.

"We should go to New York Finn," Rachel says, "You can see Cooperstown and I can see a real Broadway play, like the ones on Kurt's DVDs."

"We totally should," Finn says, a bit of a sparkle in his eye.

"Well you two certainly seem to be making plans," Carole says a bit nervously.

"We love each other Mrs. Hummel, and when two people love each other they make plans together," Rachel says.

"Yes, I know sweetie, but you've only spoken to each other online until recently, don't you think you're moving a bit fast?"

"Mom's Right," Finn says frantically wanting to end the awkward conversation before it starts. "I mean, we have all of the time in the world to get to know each other more right?"

"Absolutely," Carole agrees.

"Well I like to think we know each other very well Finn I mean we did—

"Can I talk to you outside for a second?" Finn says, cutting Rachel off. And they both get up from the table and the others can only stare.

"Rachel you have to be more careful when you talk in front of my parents, they don't even fully understand what our relationship is," Finn says once they get a close enough distance away from the house.

"I'm sorry, I just want them to know that I love you," she says.

"I know, I know and I'm sorry that things can't be different but they can't know Rachel. You have to do things on their terms, at least until they get more comfortable with you."

"I don't understand why we can't just tell them where I come from, I mean they're your family Finn I'm sure they'd understand."

"Understand that you're a mermaid? I really don't think so."

"But you accepted it," Rachel argues. "You accepted me from the very start. It made me wonder why we ever had that rule in the first place."

"First of all I was ten years old, second you still had a tail when I first met you, we don't have any way to prove what you really are, if I tell them they're going to think I'm crazy."

"But they love you, why would they ever think that?"

"Because Rachel you don't understand how the world works," he realizes he's raising his voice and he doesn't mean to but he has to get her to understand. "When people start talking about mermaids and magic other people tend to lock them up in very special padded rooms."

"So you're saying that if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes you wouldn't have believed that I was what I said I was? You would have thought that _I_ was crazy?"

"Rachel, it's not fair for you to ask me something like that," Finn says. "I don't know what I would have thought. I think everyone wants to believe in magic and stuff but, I don't know, I guess they can't."

"That's a very sad thing Finn," She says.

"I know, I know it is, but that's life."

She looks close to tears, but she finally nods. "Okay Finn, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sad Rachel," he says taking her into his arms. "I promise that things will get better with my family, that one day we'll be able to tell them everything that we mean to each other, you know, minus the whole 'you're a fish' part."

She giggles a little through her tears and wipes her eyes. "And we really will go to New York one day?"

"Yeah," Finn says. "I promise."

Return


	9. Summer Fling

**A/N: I'm thinking I should start shopping for beta readers, I've been meaning to but I just haven't gotten around to it. Anyway, enjoy this update.**

He can't sense her anymore, he can't no matter how hard he tries, and it scares him. He knew that something was wrong when she didn't come back from Australia when she was supposed to, but he decided to wait it out awhile. He knows she's not dead, that's a different feeling altogether. It can only be one thing. It has never happened to anyone in his circle, at least not since before he was born. They don't talk about that, it's been a secret for so long that sometimes he forgets about it for long stretches. They are all happy to stay oblivious, to write the whole idea of Mermaids turning human off as a myth and live their lives. But her, the one he knew was meant for him from the very beginning, she was different. There always seemed to be something missing for her, as if her world wasn't enough, he understood, sometimes it felt that way for him too, but considering where he came from, where he really came from, it was to be expected. She came from the sea, born there, raised there, yet part of her heart always seemed to belong to the land. And now it has happened, she has changed, and his ability to find her forged when they kissed all those years ago is gone. But it isn't over, he will find her, and he will convince the one who gave her legs to take them back. It can't be hard to find her, the closest body of land to their colony is that tiny island that they talk about in stories sometimes. He will go there. He will find her.

* * *

><p>"How about this one?" Rachel says, holding a blue cardigan with a white cat wearing a yellow ribbon up to her tiny frame.<p>

"What is it with you and horrible cardigans?" Kurt scoffs.

She shrugs, "They're warm," she says softly. "Where I come from it's never warm."

"Atlanta?" Kurt says, knitting his brow.

"Ooh, how about this?" she says, ignoring Kurt's question and finding a crisp white dress with lacy trim along the bottom and the neckline.

"Very Sunday school chic," he says, rubbing his chin in approval, "But if you're going to pull that off you're going to have to slut it up a little in other areas, I'm thinking bedhead, have you ever considered a haircut?"

Her eyes go wide in shock and her hands reach her long mane, "My hair? You want me to cut my hair."

"Oh my god you sound like a midwestern farmer's daughter on the makeover episode of _America's Next Top Model_," Kurt says, rolling his eyes. "I'm not saying cut it all off, your facial features are far too severe for short hair, but some shoulder grazing layers with a sideswept bang would be absolute perfection on you."

She smiles tentatively, "well, my hair does tend to get tangled rather easily, and it's quite heavy when I don't spend all of my time in—"

"Where?" Kurt says.

"What? Oh, nothing."

"Well, I've been clamoring for some scissor practice ever since I styled Finn's mom."

"Her hair is lovely, you're very talented Kurt," she says sweetly. "I would know, I'm very talented too."

"Your lack of modesty aside I'm not going to argue with you there," Kurt says. "Have you ever considered going out for Broadway?"

"You mean singing onstage, like in the shows we saw?"

"It's a tough racket but I think you have something," He says. "You're fierce girl, seriously."

"You think I'm fierce?"

"Oh please, you know you're fierce, stop fishing for compliments." He jokes.

"You know what? I think I will let you cut my hair," she says confidently. "I want to be able to see the cat on my sweater. It's cuteness will go completely unnoticed if it's covered by my hair."

"You're something else you know that?" he says, shaking his head. "I was a little skeptical about the whole internet girlfriend thing at first but I have to say, aside from your horrible taste in sweaters I can see why Finn likes you."

"I like him very much too," she says. "I like all of you very much."

"So, you ready to check out?" Kurt says.

"Oh yes, I brought a debit card," she says, holding it up excitedly.

Kurt takes a closer look at it. "Wait, that's Finn's card."

"Mmm hmm," she murmurs.

"Hmm, I didn't have him pegged as the sugar daddy type," Kurt says.

"I should know what that means shouldn't I?" she says sheepishly.

"Nevermind," he says, shaking his head, "Let's get you checked out."

* * *

><p>Finn shakes his knee nervously, he knew Rachel letting Kurt give her a makeover was a risk, but he chooses to be optimistic, he really did do a great job with his mom, she was definitely the most stylish island dwelling diner entrepreneur he knew of. And it's hard to believe that Rachel could ever be anything but gorgeous.<p>

"Are you ready to see your new and improved paramour?" Kurt says, prancing in to meet Finn.

"Assuming paramour means girlfriend then yes."

"Come on out Rachel," Kurt calls behind him.

He had heard of people's jaws dropping before, but he had never experienced it himself until that moment. Kurt was officially a genius, he had always loved Rachel's flowing, waist-length hair, but she looked so incredibly fresh and pretty with the twenty inches or so he had lopped off, her beautiful face was framed in loose, tousled curls and side bangs that brought out her gorgeous eyes. He had also dyed it, changing her red streaked chocolate brown locks into a shiny, satiny chestnut. And paired with the sweet, lacy dress that shows off her kickass legs she's nothing short of absolutely perfect.

"Oh my god," Finn says in almost a whisper.

"Does that mean you like it?" she says nervously.

He gets up slowly and walks toward her.

"You are so… hot," Finn says, almost as if in a trance. "Like, super hot."

"I think it's wonderful," she says giddily, running her hands through it. "It feels so light. And I can shake it around," she continues, doing just that, shaking it back and forth like that girl in the White Snake video. Finn blushes a little, slightly embarrassed by how turned on he is by her enthusiastic hair tossing.

"Did I do good?" Kurt says in a manner that suggests he absolutely knows the answer.

"You did very good," Finn says, still gaping like a fool at his girlfriend.

"Okay, enough fawning over my genius" Kurt says. "We were supposed to meet Blaine at the Dunk tank fifteen minutes ago."

"Yeah, we better go," Finn says, taking Rachel's hand.

Summer fling is by far the lamest McKinley island event to happen in any given year, but Finn knows that Rachel will love it, because she loves everything. And she's never tasted cotton candy or sent a man to his watery doom at the dunk tank, she'll probably even like the craft fair. In spite of himself he's sort of excited.

"Finn, I have a secret," Rachel says, swinging his hand back and forth as they walk together.

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"I want to sing, onstage, in an actual real live play."

His mouth involuntarily turns up into a half smile. She wants to sing on Broadway, she has an ambition, a goal, a place in the world that she has the potential to belong to outside of him, and he's happy and scared at the same time, because he wants that for her too. If she's going to be human then she's going to need a career eventually and he can't think of one more perfect for her, but how will they make it happen?

"That's… that's great Rachel," he says.

"Now I know you have to finish high school before you can leave but I think it would be so perfect if we could go to New York together."

"I'm on board," Kurt says, overhearing. "Anything is better than this place. And Blaine's always talking about going to either NYU or Berkeley, it can't be that hard to turn him off of California."

Finn has always dreamed of traveling, of seeing the world outside, but he never really considered actually living anywhere else permanently. He was always expected to take over the diner at some point, and he was comfortable with that future, but there's something about the idea of getting out of McKinley island for good, going to the mainland and never looking back. The thought is frankly terrifying, but not terrifying in a bad way, like being chased by a serial killer, it's a different kind of terrifying, like sky diving. Even more terrifying is the fact that he doesn't immediately hate the idea, Him, Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine together in the mainland, tasting life for the first time, it was something he could see himself wrapping his head around. He squeezes Rachel's hand and trades smiles with her, that optimistic look is enough for now. But they definitely have some talking to do.

"Alright, I get first Dunk," Kurt says as they approach the fair, it is as he expected, the decorations and swarm of people and colorful booths strewn about immediately excite Rachel and she lets out a little squeal. The Dunk tank is the first booth they see, and Blaine is already soaked from head to toe, and it's safe to say that he won't have time to dry off as Puck and Coach Bieste are both in line, clearly out for blood.

"How's it going dude?" Finn says, greeting Puck, "Hey Quinn," he continues, turning his attention to the icy blonde, and once again she's staring daggers at Rachel.

"Wow Rachel, cute haircut," Quinn says.

"Thank you," Rachel says sweetly.

"You actually look somewhat human," Quinn continues.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Finn says knitting his brow.

"Oh nothing," she says, shrugging. "Puck, hold my place in line, I want to get a funnel cake," she continues, for some reason still glaring at Rachel as she says it.

Finn shakes the comment off and runs his thumb over Rachel's knuckles reassuringly. Quinn has always been kind of a bitch, but still, something about the way she looks at Rachel just seems so… off.

"What took you guys so long?" Blaine cries from his perch, finally noticing his friends in line.

"Sorry, I was busy beautifying our girl Rachel," Kurt says.

"Oh my god, you look fantastic, good job babe," Blaine beams.

"Thank you," Rachel and Kurt say simultaneously.

"You're going down pretty boy," Coach Bieste says, reaching the front of the line and spinning the ball in her hand, prepping herself.

"Oh n— Blaine doesn't have time to finish his thought as Coach Bieste sends him under the water in one hit.

"Nice," Finn says, trading a high five with Bieste as Kurt, Rachel and Puck let out a collective exuberant laugh.

* * *

><p>Blaine runs a towel back and forth over his head as the group makes their way through the crafts booths, he's clearly happy to be finished with his dunk tank duties, and was more than happy to get his revenge on Puck, who took the next shift. The craft fair is always Finn's least favorite part of Summer Fling, but Kurt loves it. Finn has never really understood why, Kurt has such great taste in everything, and the goods on sale at the crafts booths were always so garish and ugly. Kurt refers to them as kitschy, whatever that means.<p>

"Oh my god how tacky is this?" Kurt says, holding up a bedazzled trophy bass on an oval plaque.

"That thing is literally making my eyes bleed Kurt," Blaine says.

"I'm with Blaine on this one," Finn agrees.

"You guys are completely missing the point of liking things ironically," Kurt says, rolling his eyes. "I'll bet Rachel will like it, where is she anyway?"

"She's looking at hats, she's obsessed with hats for some reason," Finn says, absentmindedly looking at the assorted charms on the table, until something catches his eye. It is a tan woven bracelet with two turquoise fish meeting in the middle. Two fish, meeting in a kiss. His mouth turns up in a smile, it's just so unbelievably fitting.

"Kissing fish?" Kurt says. "I guess it's cute in an overly precious sort of way."

"I'll take this one," Finn says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet, he takes out the money and hands it to the vendor.

"So do I have to ask who that's for?" Kurt says.

"You think she'll like it?" Finn says.

"Oh please, little miss cat sweater? She'll eat it up with a spoon," Kurt says.

He frantically shoves the bracelet into his pocket as Rachel races up to them, looking even more excited than usual, which was really saying something.

"Finn, you'll never guess what I just saw," Rachel says. "They have singing here Finn, we have to go."

"Oh no, she found the karaoke booth," Kurt says under his breath.

"I can definitely stand to get my Karaoke on," Blaine says.

"Come on Finn," She says, dragging him behind her by the wrist.

"Okay, you and me totally have to sing _Faithfully_, we always tear that song a new one," Finn says.

"You and your power ballads, it's a party, well, for all intents and purposes it's a party," Kurt protests. "You should sing something Fun, like… _You Spin Me_."

"Yeah okay, I like that song," Finn agrees, shrugging.

"But you have to dance to that song Finn,_ I didn't even have legs until a week ago,_" She protests, saying the last part too low for Kurt and Blaine to hear.

"I know and the sad thing is you're still better than me," Finn says sheepishly.

"Okay but only if I get to sing _All That Jazz_ after, I've already memorized the lyrics," Rachel insists.

"Looks like someone doesn't get the point of Karaoke," Kurt murmers over to Blaine.

"Oh god, tell me this isn't happening," Kurt says, stopping short as he sees who is currently manning the mic.

"It's happening," Finn says, letting out a soft sigh.

_Well I'm hot blooded, check it and see_  
><em>I got a fever of a hundred and three<em>  
><em>Come on baby, do you do more than dance?<em>  
><em>I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded<em>

As Burt sings and dances onstage they all feel a mixture of discomfort and amusement that isn't entirely unwelcome.

"You know he's actually pretty good," Blaine says, shrugging.

"Put a sock in it Blaine," Kurt jokes.

"Yeah! Go Burt!" Finn yells, cheering him on. To which Burt throws him a devil horn hand sign from the stage.

"Yeah, shake it baby!" Carole yells from the sidelines.

"Mom," Finn groans. "do you have to say things like that in public?"

_Hot blooded, every night_  
><em>Hot blooded, you're looking so tight<em>  
><em>Hot blooded, now you're driving me wild<em>  
><em>Hot blooded, I'm so hot for you child<em>  
><em>Hot blooded, I'm a little bit high<em>  
><em>Hot blooded, you're a little bit shy<em>  
><em>Hot blooded, you're making me sing<em>  
><em>Hot blooded, for your (hot blooded) sweet sweet thing<em>  
><em>Did you hear what I said?<em>

They cheer enthusiastically as he finishes, even Kurt.

"So, you two want to show 'em what you got?" Burt says, approaching Finn and Rachel with the Mic. Finn takes it and ascends the stage with Rachel, giving Brad the DJ their song choice.

As the music plays Finn and Rachel raise their mics and begin to sing.

Finn sings the first verse, dancing terribly and adorably along with the up-tempo beat

_Yeah I, I got to know your name_  
><em>Well and I, could trace your private number baby<em>  
><em>All I know is that to me<em>  
><em>You look like you're lots of fun<em>  
><em>Open up your lovin' arms<em>  
><em>I want some<em>

…And Rachel starts in with the second verse…

_Well I...I set my sights on you_  
><em>(and no one else will do)<em>  
><em>And I, I've got to have my way now, baby<em>  
><em>(and no one else will do)<em>  
><em>And I, I've got to have my way now, baby<em>  
><em>All I know is that to me<em>  
><em>You look like you're havin' fun<em>  
><em>Open up your lovin' arms<em>  
><em>Watch out, here I come<em>

…And the sing the chorus together and the crowd is loving it…

_You spin me right round, baby_  
><em>right round like a record, baby<em>  
><em>Right round round round<em>  
><em>You spin me right round, baby<em>  
><em>Right round like a record, baby<em>  
><em>Right round round round<em>

…Finn takes his turn again, the audience becoming more engaged by the second…

_I, I got be your friend now, baby_  
><em>And I would like to move in<em>  
><em>Just a little bit closer<em>  
><em>(little bit closer)<em>

...And Rachel sings once more...

_All I know is that to me_  
><em>You look like you're lots of fun<em>  
><em>Open up your lovin' arms<em>  
><em>Watch out, here I come<em>

… And they finish together…

_You spin me right round, baby_  
><em>right round like a record, baby<em>  
><em>Right round round round<em>  
><em>You spin me right round, baby<em>  
><em>Right round like a record, baby<em>  
><em>Right round round round<em>

Finn and Rachel embrace on stage as the crown cheers, and then climb down the three short steps together to accept the compliments.

"Wow honey," Carole says. "Amazing job… both of you." Apparently his mom has somewhat gotten over the mild weirdness of the family dinner, but there is still some noticeable apprehension in her voice. They have to make sure to watch themselves around her, Kurt was right, _Faithfully_ probably wouldn't have been a good idea, it would have been impossible for them to sing that song together without everyone noticing how scarily in love they were. "Rachel, that really is some voice," Carole continues, the concerned tone still there, betraying her words.

"That's what I've always thought."

Rachel's blood runs cold as she hears his voice behind her, it's the first time she's ever heard it in her ears as opposed to in her mind, it sounds exactly the same, but it couldn't be, it couldn't be him.

"_Rachel_, is it?" He says once more, and there's no denying it, it's him. But it can't be him. She turns her head slowly and she can't believe what she's seeing, and neither can Finn, how is it possible that someone he's never met before on this Island knows Rachel? He tries to relax, there's always the possibility that he's someone she met on her own while he was working or while she was shopping with Kurt, but that doesn't make any sense, _that's what I've always thought_, since when? A week ago?

"It's you," Rachel says, stunned, and it's true, he knows her. He's handsome, with dark, wavy hair and large blue eyes... large, _glowing_ blue eyes and clothes that look like they don't quite suit him, clothes that look like they were nabbed in a hurry.

"I knew I would find you," He says with a soft smile. "I must say I'm liking the hair."

**Stay tuned folks!**


	10. An Old Friend

**Sorry for the half chapter it's mostly just a lead in to the next one.**

"Jesse?" she says in almost a whisper. Her face is hard to read, he can't tell if she's happy to see him or simply shocked. "Oh my god! Jesse!" she says, throwing her arms around the blue eyed brunette. Damn it, she's definitely happy. "What are you doing here, how did this happen?"

"Rachel you know this young man?" Carole says confusedly while Finn simply looks confused.

"Yes, he's my friend… from Atlanta," she says in a way that suggests she hopes he knows to just go with it.

"Jesse St. James," he says, reaching out to shake Carole's hand.

"Well I didn't know we were so popular with the Atlanteans," Carole says, shaking Jesse's hand.

"You have no idea," Jesse says knowingly.

"Rachel can we talk privately?" Finn finally says. "All of us?" he continues with a none too subtle groan.

"Don't you want to hear Kurt and Blaine sing?" Carole says.

"I'll make it up to him," Finn says, taking Rachel by the arm while Jesse follows suit.

Once they get far enough out of earshot Finn prepares to unload his numerous questions.

"So let me get this straight, you're a mermaid too?" Finn says, starting with the obvious one.

"Mer_man_," Jesse corrects "and wait just a minute, he knows about you?" he continues. "_Him_, he's the one?"

"He's known for awhile, let's just say I broke some very big rules a long time ago," Rachel explains.

"I can't believe it, he looks so… inconsequential," Jesse says, looking him up and down disapprovingly.

"Jesse not that it isn't amazing to see you but why are you here?" She says before Finn can find out exactly what he meant by that last sentence.

"Isn't it obvious? I came to see you. And I came to bring you home."

"Wait, what?" Finn says, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"But I'm human now, I can't go home, what about the myth?" she says hesitantly.

"The myth is exactly what the name entails, a myth, you _can_ go home," Jesse says.

"Wait but… how?" Finn says, a hint of dejection present in his voice.

"Unfortunately I can't tell you just yet, it's part of the rules."

"What rules?" Rachel says. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you have the power to change back," Jesse says happily. "Isn't that fantastic?"

Finn bites his lip hard and tries to wrap his mind around what's happening, is it true? Can Rachel go home? And if she does, can she ever come back? For the first time in seven years it feels like Rachel is actually a part of his life, and he wouldn't trade that for anything, but he knows that it's not his choice. That he can't just keep her if she says no.

"So if you turn back into a mermaid that means…"

"This little thing, whatever it is, is over," Jesse says, finishing Finn's sentence and pointing between the two of them.

"But couldn't I turn human again if I wanted to?" Rachel says.

"That's not the way it works," Jesse says. "We can only turn human once, once we change back it's for good."

"Wait, how do you know so much about this stuff?" Finn says. "Rachel didn't know any of this."

"My history is what you would call… complicated, let's just leave it at that," Jesse says.

Finn looks at Rachel, trying to figure out what she's thinking, what she's feeling. She seems conflicted. Conflicted is a good thing right? He thinks to himself, it's better than her automatically making up her mind to leave.

"Jesse, I'm sorry but… I don't want to go home," she says carefully, taking Finn's hand. "I like it here."

_Yes, in your face!_ Finn thinks to himself, squeezing her hand back.

"Come on, be serious," Jesse says, "You know you don't belong here."

"She belongs with me," Finn says.

"Oh really?" Jesse says spitefully. "Does his family even know what you are?"

"We don't have to tell them that, I have what you call a backstory," Rachel says proudly.

"It's not safe for you here, you know that," Jesse says putting his hands on her shoulders.

"I can protect her," Finn says. "And you may not believe this but she's learning to protect herself, I mean, you saw how she came up with a fake name for you right off the bat."

"Jesse St. James is my real name," Jesse corrects.

"Why do you have a human name?" Finn asks confusedly.

"Like I said, it's complicated, but were getting off-subject here, you need to come home with me," Jesse says, turning his attention back to Rachel.

"I'm sorry, but I want to stay with Finn," She says, moving in closer to him and letting him put his arm around her.

"Wait, your name is Finn?" Jesse says. "Well that's precious."

"Wow, I didn't realize that mermaids could be dicks just like humans," Finn says.

"Mer_man_," Jesse seethes.

"Look, it's good that you're here," Rachel says, once again keeping the fight from escalating. "You can send a message back to my father."

"Rachel this is crazy, I'm telling you that you can come home and you're not even going to think about it?" Jesse says.

"I've made up my mind, I love him," she looks at Finn then and smiles up at him warmly.

"And I love her too," Finn says.

"I don't get it," Jesse says, "You would think if you were going to go for a human you would at least pick someone with actual talent, I mean, I'm not surprised that he can't compete with a mermaid, no human can, but you'd think he'd be able to give at least _some_ humans a run for their money."

"Look she's made up her mind okay, why don't you go find your tail and get lost?" Finn says angrily.

"There's no reason to fight you guys," Rachel says. "Look Jesse, you know that I care for you a great deal, I always have, but my heart has always and will always belong to Finn."

"Look, this isn't about me," Jesse says unconvincingly. "But I know a little something about the world and I know how hard it is to survive here even if you weren't born with a tail. I don't want you to realize too late that you made a mistake by trying to be something you're not."

"But this_ is_ who I am Jesse, don't you see?" Rachel says. "I've always felt like something was missing and now I don't anymore, surely you understand that?"

"Of course I understand, but that doesn't mean I can accept this," Jesse says. "I'm not leaving without you. I hope you know that. And Finn? We'll have words later," at that he turns on his heel and walks away.

"Wow, that was really… weird." Finn says.

"He looked so upset. Maybe I should go talk to him," Rachel says.

"I don't like this, if he stays here we don't know what kind of damage he can do. What if he tries to expose you?"

"He wouldn't do that, besides it's like you said, nobody would believe him."

"I know but…" he trails off at that point. "Maybe I should talk to him, man to fish."

"I think that's a good idea, maybe if he can see what I see he'll understand why I made my choice."

He looks into Rachel's eyes and cups her face, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb. "You know I'd understand right, if you wanted to go home, I would be sad and I would miss you like crazy, but I would understand."

"Finn," she says, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him. "I _am_ home."

* * *

><p>"So Quinn," Puck says as he bounces the basketball on the concrete. "If I make this shot, you go out with me, what do you say?"<p>

"I say you're wasting your time," Quinn says coolly.

"Come on, we both know you have a thing for Finn for whatever reason, but he's hooked up."

"With that freak, I know," Quinn says.

He shrugs one shoulder before shooting the basket, sinking it effortlessly. "I don't know, I kind of like her."

"Trust me, I know her kind, and Finn's in for a world of trouble with that girl."

"Well, like it or not he's into her."

"Yeah, I know," Quinn says. "But believe it or not it isn't just about Finn."

"What do you mean by that?"

She shrugs, "Why don't you win one of these skanky girls a teddy bear, I think I'm going to take off," Quinn says before walking away.

She takes off her flip flops and heads down the beach, enjoying the feel of the sand beneath her bare feet, it reminds her of her mother, who would always take off her shoes for her before they went on their walks, back when things were happier. She heads for the rock, the same one she always sits on when she likes to be alone with her thoughts. But she has to do a double take when she realizes that there is already somebody there.

"Um, excuse me," she says tapping him on the shoulder.

He turns to face her and she has to take a step back.

"Is there something wrong miss?" He says.

"Um no it's just… your eyes."

"Oh, yeah," he says sheepishly, "Color contacts."

She narrows her eyes at him and before even taking a few moments to think about it she opens her mouth to speak again.

"Do you by any chance know a girl named Rachel?"

He perks up a bit at the question. "You know Rachel?"

"Yeah, she's a… friend."

"Yeah, I know Rachel from way back, hey do you think you can do me a fav—

Before he can finish his question she turns away. She thinks she hears him say to wait, but she can't wait another second. As she runs she reaches into her purse and pulls out her phone, dialing frantically.

"Hello Quinnie, are you having fun," He says among answering his phone.

"Dad, you're not going to believe this," she says giddily.

"Try me."

She takes a deep breath and readies herself.

"There are two of them."

**Ooh cliffy, stay tuned folks!**


	11. Jesse's Tale

**We've just landed at exposition central, get ready to have a whole lot of your questions answered.**

He doesn't know what to say to this guy, or what to expect. He knows that Jesse knows things even Rachel herself doesn't and that scares him, and he doesn't even know why. Maybe it's because they have a history together, one that Finn can't even begin to understand. Did Jesse have feelings for Rachel? Did Rachel have feelings for Jesse? Finn knew that Rachel was the only one, but how could he know for sure if she had always felt the same way? There was still so much about her life that he could never really wrap his mind around, and for the first time Finn and Rachel's bubble was beginning to break, they didn't have their own secret world together anymore, and as much as he wanted Rachel to be a part of his life, his real life, things were only going to get harder. He sees Jesse on the beach, on the rock and he approaches him quietly.

"You and I need to talk," Finn says.

He turns his head and fixes his stunning blue eyes on Finn. "You're right, we do."

"Not here," Finn says. "I have to get back to Rachel, we can meet tonight, at 10 O'clock, on the pier? You do know when 10 O'clock is right?"

"Yes, I know when 10 O'clock is," Jesse says, rolling his eyes. "And when you come, come alone."

"Is it pointless to ask why?"

"Yes, Rachel can't know about any of this."

"Okay," he says, deciding not to stress it anymore. "10 O'clock."

* * *

><p>"What do you mean there are two of them?" Quinn's father says as she paces back and forth across their living room.<p>

"I saw him, on the beach. He had those eyes, the glowing ones that help them see underwater at extreme depths."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes daddy, I'm sure, you taught me well."

"Do you know if he has any connections to the human realm?"

"Undetermined. But he knows the other one, Rachel."

"Alright, here's what you're going to do, you're going to follow him, plant the recording device, but be inconspicuous, you're good at that. Find out why he's here."

"Isn't it obvious? He's here for her."

"Even still, he might know things that Rachel doesn't, about her species, about the shapeshifting."

"I hope so, because every conversation we've eavesdropped on between Rachel and Finn revealed nothing about how to change her back, I don't understand how it's possible she knows so little about her own kind."

"Well, if this other one knows something then we have to find out what it is, Rachel is completely useless to us human, you have to find out how to change her back."

"I still don't understand why I can't just go to Finn directly about this, tell him what we know. God knows we'd have to endure a lot fewer weird conversations about mermaid sex."

"Because if we do then he'll only try harder to protect her, we can't have that. Find the merman, follow him. I know you can do it Quinn."

"I'm on it daddy, pretty soon we'll have our mermaid."

"And we'll prove to the world that God works in ways more fantastic than anyone ever suspected."

"And by the world you mean mom, right?" she says with an equal amount of sadness and hopefulness. At that he pulls his daughter to him and kisses her on the forehead.

"Good luck Quinn, I believe in you."

She takes the tiny device and slips it in her pocket before heading out the door, it's almost sundown and Summer fling will be ending soon. It was easy to plant a mini recording device in Finn's room the night after seeing the movie, having known Finn for years, but she knows nothing about this new merman, she doesn't know where he's staying or where to find him. It's only been an hour or so since she left the rock, she figures it's a long shot that he'd still be there, but she decides that there's no harm in checking. It's as she suspected, he's gone, but there are so few places to look on this island that it's not the worst news ever. She heads back to summer fling, it's died down a bit but it's definitely the most heavily populated area on the island at that point. Chances are if he isn't there then someone who has seen him is. She smiles upon sight of him, eating a corn dog by the spin-art booth, she wonders where he got money, but then it dawns on her that it probably wasn't that difficult for him to steal.

"You again," She says, walking up to him.

"Oh, hello," he says casually.

"Sorry I ran off back there, I just forgot that I had something to do."

"No worries," he says, shrugging and taking another bite of the corn dog, grimacing a bit at the taste. "So, you say you know Rachel?"

"I do, she dates my friend Finn."

"Yeah," he says, dourly, tossing the half-eaten corn dog in the trash. "I've heard."

"So, how do you know Rachel?"

"We go way back," he says. "In fact there was once a time I thought we might, you know, have something."

"Shot you down huh?"

"It is what it is," he says, shrugging, a sad look in his eye.

"Well, for the record, I think Rachel is a moron," Quinn says, her voice almost seductive. "You're a total catch…"

"Jesse," he says, finishing her sentence.

"Quinn, Quinn Fabray," She says reaching out to shake his hand.

"Well I'm very flattered Quinn, you're truly a vision, but long distance relationships never work out."

"Pity," she says. "Well if for whatever reason you decide to give McKinley island another visit, how about looking me up?" At that she saunters past him flirtatiously and slips a hand in his back jeans pocket and gives his ass a quick grab. It wouldn't be out of line for him to assume she's just a random slutty girl, but keeping up appearances is the least of her worries.

"See ya Jesse," she says, walking away and hoping to god that he doesn't check his pockets.

* * *

><p>"I don't understand why I can't come," Rachel says. "He's <em>my<em> friend."

"I know, I thought it was weird too, but he specifically told me not to bring you along, he probably thinks it will be easier to convince me to give you up if you're not there.

"Will it?"

"Not a chance," he says smirking and bending down to kiss her.

"What am I supposed to do while you're gone?"

"I think Kurt just got a bootleg of My Fair Lady in from ebay."

"Good, and Finn there's something I have to tell you," she says, a bit tentatively.

"What's that?"

"Well I read your book, cover to cover," she starts. "And I think I'm ready."

"Really," he says, his voice rising in pitch slightly and he can't believe what he's hearing, she's ready, actually ready, and the moment he's been dreaming about for so long is finally going to happen. "I mean... are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely 100 percent versed on the subject and I would love nothing more than to hae sex with you tonight Finn," she says confidently. "But I have a few questions before we proceed."

"Of course," he says eagerly,

"Are you sure that you don't have Chlamydia?"

"Where would I even get Chlamydia?" Finn says, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis, any of those?"

"Rachel I've never had sex before," he explains.

"I know, but it's important to ask these questions. You can ask me if you want. I have nothing to hide."

"Okay, do _you_ have Chlamydia?"

"Nope, I am 100 percent STD free," she says proudly, making him smile.

"Good," he says, bending down to kiss her again, and as excited about this as he is, he knows there are other matters to worry about first. "I'll try not to take too long okay?"

"Okay, I'm going to go find Kurt," at that she goes back inside and he starts toward the pier.

* * *

><p>Jesse is already waiting by the time he gets there, and he still isn't sure what he plans to say to him, but he's made up his mind and so has Rachel. He hopes that he can get him to understand, but he isn't counting on it.<p>

"Finn, just in time," Jesse says.

"I just wanted to tell you if you're trying to make me give up Rachel then you're wasting your time," Finn says firmly.

"Well you could have told me that at the rock earlier, clearly there's more to say otherwise you wouldn't have arranged this little conference."

"You're right," finn says. "The truth is I want to know what you know, about Rachel, about your kind. I want to know everything. If I'm going to protect her—

"You can't protect her Finn."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that as long as Rachel is human then she's in danger, and you can't protect her, sooner or later this is all going to end badly."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I've been there Finn."

And suddenly he understood, how Jesse knew so much, the name, everything.

"Wait a minute, how long have you been human Jesse?" Finn asks carefully.

"I'm not human, I've never been human," Jesse says. "In the same way I've never really been a merman, at heart yes but not biologically, not fully."

"So you mean…"

"I'm both Finn. I was born to a human mother and a Merman father. Me and my father are the only ones who know the truth, and now you."

"So that means me and Rachel can have kids one day," Finn says, ponderously.

"That's what you're getting from that revelation? You're not the least bit interested in how it all went to hell."

"Sorry, I'm listening," Finn says, refocusing his attention.

"My mother was a Marine biologist. She lived alone on this remote island for several years trying to find new aquatic life forms, until one day she discovered one that she never would have expected."

"Your dad?"

"I believe that was implied yes." Jesse says smugly. "Anyway, he was injured while venturing too close to the shore and she found him, unconscious in the sand. She nursed him back to health over the next several weeks and set him free in the water, but he continued to come visit her. She taught him everything about the world, through books and stories and—

"That's just like me and Rachel," he says with a soft smile.

"Again, that was implied, can you please let me finish?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"They became very close over the next few years, until one day, for reasons completely unknown to my father, he turned human. They had no idea what caused it, she ran all kinds of tests, trying to figure it out, but they never did. So at that point they decided that if he couldn't turn back then he would simply embrace everything that it meant to be human, including a life with my mother."

"I'm not understanding, you told me that you know what will turn Rachel back into a mermaid."

"I do, and that's something that my parents had to find out the hard way," Jesse says. "After they had me my parents decided to move back to the mainland to raise me, my mother got a job teaching and my father stayed at home with me, he couldn't get a job anywhere because he didn't exist according to any records. But they managed to be happy, they were happy for so long that I didn't think anything would break them apart. But it happened."

"What happened?"

"She died," he says sadly. "When I was 7 years old my mother was hit by a car when she was walking home from work."

"Oh my god," Finn says, "I'm so sorry."

"It was a long time ago," he says, the pain in his eyes still obvious. "Anyway, that was the day we found out what made my father human, it wasn't staying out of the water, it wasn't some curse. It was her, she made him human, falling in love with her made him human, and her dying turned him back into a merman, and it turned me into one too. Luckily my grandparents got over the shock of me suddenly having a tail for long enough to get me and my father back to the ocean, where I've lived until now. Of course being half human means that I can change back and forth at will but it took several years and several near drowning experiences for me to figure that out."

"So Rachel turned human… because of me?" Finn says, knitting his brow in confusion.

"I know, I don't understand what she sees in you either," he says coolly.

"But Rachel and I have loved each other for seven years, why is this just happening now?"

"Friendship, yes, infatuation, sure, but real love, that takes time. It's why mermaids turn human so rarely, not many of us spend enough time on the surface to fall in love with a human."

At that Finn begins to back away nervously. "Wait a minute, your father turned human when your mother died, does that mean I have to die to change Rachel… did you come here to kill me?"

"Believe me the thought has crossed my mind, but no," Jesse says coolly. "You dying isn't the only way to turn Rachel back."

"Then how, what do you expect me to do?"

"It was the connection," Jesse says. "Once that was lost my father couldn't stay human. If Rachel is going to turn back then she needs to fall out of love with you."

Finn takes a second to let the words sink in, the only way to turn Rachel back is to either die or for her to stop loving him, and neither seemed too likely at that point. At the realization a smile reaches his lips.

"Why are you smiling, did you not hear what I said?" Jesse says.

"Yeah, Rachel has to fall out of love with me to turn back, and I was so afraid it was something that could happen randomly or by accident, but this means that she can stay with me on land without having to constantly worry about being found out."

"Finn, what is it you're not getting? Rachel can't stay here," Jesse says in frustration. "She has no past, no family, no support of any kind."

"She has me," Finn argues.

"And if you die, what then? Me and my dad got lucky, Rachel may not be so fortunate."

"So you're saying I should give up Rachel because I might die someday," Finn scoffs. "What kind of reason is that?"

"She could also fall out of love with you on her own, have you ever thought about that? Love is a fragile thing Finn, it needs to be nurtured every day and I don't think you're up for it."

"I am, I want to do that with her," he says, meaning it, but he can't shake the fact that Jesse's words are getting to him a little, because what if he does die? And as much as he's sure that he will always love Rachel, what if she stops loving him?

"It doesn't take a lot to destroy a relationship, even if she only falls out of love with you for an instant it's enough."

"How do you know that? What if you're wrong?"

"Then I guess I'll have to kill you," Jesse says in a way that sounds like he may or may not be serious.

"Look, I'm not going to make Rachel turn back, she wants to stay, and I want her to stay. Besides, how would I even make Rachel fall out of love with me? What, should I tell her I had sex with someone else?"

"Did you? Because that could work."

"No, I've never had sex with anyone else it was hypocritical."

"You mean hypothetical," Jesse corrects "Seriously Rachel, this guy?" he continues, talking to the air.

"I'm not giving up Rachel, we can make this work, I know we can."

"How can you be so selfish?" Jesse says. "Don't you want Rachel to be safe? With her family? With people who love her?"

"_I_ love her, and if I could grow a tail and live under the sea then I would."

"Wow, that sounded surprisingly sincere."

"Look, I'm sorry that you lost your mom, I really am, but I promise I won't let anything bad happen to Rachel, I would never, ever do that."

"How can you be sure? You're the only other person who knows about Rachel, and I know you think that you can take care of her all by yourself but you're just a kid Finn."

"Jesse, even if I wanted to send her back, it's her decision to stay, I can't change that."

"If you really love Rachel, then you'll try," Jesse says. "It's up to you." At that Jesse begins to pull off his clothes and before Finn can even object to him shamelessly getting naked in front of him Jesse jumps into the water and for a split second Finn can see a flash of his blue-gray tail.

"Think about it," Jesse says, popping up out of the water one more time before swimming away.

He certainly did have a lot to think about.

**Stay Tuned Folks!**


	12. Sweet Little Lies

He had to admit it, Jesse's words had gotten under his skin a little. Maybe he was being selfish, trying to keep Rachel knowing the dangers. He was a teenager, he never really thought about dying, but if he did Rachel would be all alone in the world, a world that she had no place in. He had almost died three times in his life, the first time was at age ten during the storm that took his father's life, the second time was at age 12 when he fell out of a tree trying to retrieve a frisbee and the third time was at age 15 when he fell of a roof while helping Burt reshingle it, in fact, if he were to suffer an untimely death he imagined that it would involve falling off of something high.

There was also the threat of Rachel falling out of love with him, of losing that connection that made her human. He was special now, being a part of this big exciting world that she was just beginning to grasp, but it was only a matter of time before she discovered that the world was filled with men who were a lot smarter, more talented and more interesting than he was. Rachel has always been a good deal smarter than him, she learned things so much faster, she would surpass him eventually. But maybe love wasn't about smarts or talent, maybe it was just about being happy with someone, and even if Rachel couldn't sing like a bird or use million dollar words like it was nothing, she would still make him happier than anyone else, maybe she felt the same way, maybe he had nothing to worry about at all.

These thoughts course through his mind as he makes the trek back home, needing to see Rachel, needing to hold her and remind himself that they belong together, that loving her makes him human too. As he enters the house he stops short at the horrifying sight of his mom and Burt sitting at the counter, making out.

"God, mom, really?" Finn says squeezing his eyes shut. "Can't you guys do that in your room?"

"Well I guess you're the only one who gets to have any fun around here," Carole says.

"Your cute little friend is in the den with Kurt and Blaine," Burt chimes in.

"Yeah, I just needed to get some air," Finn says.

"What was the deal with that Jesse kid from today?" Burt says. "Seemed a little random."

"I know, tell me about it," Finn says, "well I'm going to go join the My Fair Lady party, see you guys later, and next time put a sock on the door" he proceeds to the den without giving them time to question him any further.

"Look who decided to grace us with his presence," Kurt says as Finn enters the den.

"Hey," Rachel says brightly.

"Hey," he replies, sitting next to her and slinging his arm around her shoulders.

"Is everything okay?" she says, clearly noticing the conflicted expression on his face.

"Yeah," he insists, smiling weakly. "Everything's fine."

* * *

><p>He sits on his bed, bouncing his knee up and down, waiting for Rachel to come in through the window. He really does need to figure out how Rachel staying is going to work. Maybe she was right, maybe he should tell his parents what she is. That way if anything ever happens to him they can take care of her, like Jesse's grandparents did for him, he just doesn't know how to make them believe him. If he was in their shoes he probably wouldn't believe him. Still telling them might be the only way, they could protect her better than he could, Jesse was right, he was just a kid.<p>

"Hey," Rachel says upon entering his room.

"Hey, you're getting good at that."

"Well, climbing is a lot easier than walking, you can use your arms too. She kisses him sweetly while she begins to struggle out of her cat sweater. And he puts his hands on her waist and kisses her back and she holds him around the neck and deepens their kiss, making him lightheaded, making him forget what he was just thinking about.

"So," she says as she parts from him. "What did Jesse say?"

"Well, he told me why you turned human," he says carefully. "And how to turn you back."

"Oh," she says calmly. "How? You know, just out of curiosity."

"Well, it's not something you have to do, you turned human because of me, because of loving me."

"I see," she says, ponderously. "That actually makes sense, that night, in your boat, I felt… I felt so connected to you, so comfortable and safe with you, like I never had before."

"Me too," he agrees.

"So for me to turn back you would have to break up with me?"

"Or die," he says, shrugging his shoulders.

"Don't say that Finn," she says, touching his face and forcing him to look into her eyes. I don't ever, ever want to think about you dying."

"Look, neither of those things are going to happen, okay? I promise."

She reluctantly nods

"But, say something does happen to me," she opens her mouth to protest but she grabs her hand and squeezes it a little, and continues. "If anything were to ever happen to me I would want to make sure that someone was here to take care of you, to get you back to the ocean safely."

"Do you mean…"

"I think I should tell my parents what you are."

"But you said that they would lock you up if they ever found out."

"I know what I said, and it's still a risk, but I have to make them believe me somehow. If we told them together, well we can't both be crazy right?"

She looks away from him, contemplating the idea of telling them the truth, until finally she nods.

"Tomorrow, we'll tell them tomorrow."

"Okay, this is a good thing, maybe they can help us, maybe they'll even let you stay here without you having to sneak in through my window every night.

"I would like that."

He kisses her then and holds her tightly to him, he hopes that his parents will believe them, he knows deep down that it's his only option, but he stops thinking about it immediately when she begins to undress him without even asking, and in spite of everything, in spite of how intensely nervous he feels and his fears about everything, he undresses her too.

"You're really sure your ready for this?" he says for what feels like the thousandth time.

She rolls her eyes and groans a little, and begins to recite by heart, "In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety-

"Okay," he says, cutting her off, an amused smile on his face. "You're ready." He grabs a condom from the nightstand, tears it open with his teeth and proceeds to roll in down onto himself. "Alright Rachel," he continues, settling on top of her. "You're going to wrap your legs around my hips," she obliges. "this is going to hurt, but I promise I'll be careful."

"I trust you Finn," she says and she raises her head off of the pillow and kisses him sweetly. "Do it."

"Alright, if you want you can pull my hair."

"Yes I'd like that very much," she says giddily, placing her hands in his hair, preparing herself.

"Okay, here goes," at that he slides in, in one move and she gasps sharply in his ear and tears spring to her big eyes.

"I'm sorry," he says, kissing her tear stained cheek. "I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

She nods and bites her lip. "Keep going Finn."

He goes slowly, carefully, she feels so incredibly tight and hot, and he knows he isn't going to last long, but he keeps going, rocking steadily against her. He tries not to move too fast, he doesn't want to hurt her and he wants to last as long as possible. It's not working, He's going to come, and fast. He focuses on her face, her eyes are shut and she's biting her lip again and her head is bent back. He kisses the hollow of her neck and she sighs and meets his lips with hers, moaning softly into his mouth. "Yes Finn, keep going, don't stop."

He looks into her eyes as they make love for the first time, knowing that he can't let it be their last and he runs his fingers through her hair as he kisses her, and he braces himself because he knows what's coming and just as he anticipates the room dissolves around him and he's somewhere else, above the water this time, sitting on a big rock, watching the sunrise, his tail, or should he say Rachel's tail slapping at the water, and a sailboat can be seen in the far off distance and at that he's under the cool water again in almost an instant.

* * *

><p>Quinn removes her earphones, having heard the entire conversation between Finn and Jesse, was that really the only way to turn Rachel back, either killing Finn or somehow making her fall out of love with him? There was no way that killing Finn was an option, but it would probably be a lot less complicated than making love disappear, she still loved her mother even after she left them both, what would it take for Rachel to stop loving Finn? This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.<p>

"Well you heard it," Quinn's father says. "We have to kill the boy."

"Don't be ridiculous," she says, rolling her eyes. "We're not killing Finn, we just have to break them up somehow."

"How?" He asks. "She's a teenage girl, teenage girls don't just fall out of love Quinnie."

"Trust me I can handle this, I actually have an idea."

She whips out her cell phone and dials Finn's number, he answers after eight rings, right before she considers hanging up and trying Kurt.

"Quinn," Finn says groggily into the phone.

"Yeah, sorry to call so early."

"It's cool, what's up?"

"Actually I wanted to talk to Rachel."

"She's sleeping, I mean, she's not here, she's sleeping at the motel, that's where she is, the motel," he rambles.

"Well, will you two be going out later, I really wanted to talk to her, I wanted to apologize for how I've treated her."

"Well I'm working at Fishstix later so she'll probably be there."

"Well when you see her tell her that Quinn wants to talk."

"Okay, I'll tell her. Later Quinn." He hangs up the phone and collapses onto the pillow next to Rachel.

"Who was that?" Rachel says sleepily.

"Quinn, she wants to talk to you."

"Me? Why me?"

"She wants to apologize for being nasty to you before."

"Oh, okay, well I guess it would be nice to get to know one of your friends better.

"She's not really my friend, but Puck is trying to get into her pants so I kind of have to put up with her."

"Even still, I'm looking forward to it," she says, snuggling against him.

"So," he says tentatively. "How do you feel? I mean after..."

"A little achy," she admits. "But good, I felt so connected, more than I ever have before."

"Me too," he agrees, and kisses her again. "I just... I feel so much when I'm with you. I don't want that to stop Rachel."

"It won't," she says, cuddling up next to him and kissing his cheek. "We'll figure this thing out together."

* * *

><p>Rachel waves exuberantly at the sight of Quinn coming up to her outside of Fishstix, and Quinn waves back coolly.<p>

"Hi Quinn," Rachel says. "I'm so happy you wanted to meet with me.

"Let's walk," Quinn says, linking her arm around Rachel's and starting away from the restaurant.

"Shouldn't I tell Finn?"

"It should only take a minute," Quinn says. "My house is right up the street, we can talk in my room.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Rachel says as they reach Quinn's house.

"It's kind of a difficult subject, Hi dad, dad, this is Rachel, Rachel, dad."

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Fabray," Rachel says shaking his hand, a bit unnerved by the intense way he's looking at her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Rachel," Mr. Fabray says.

"Come on Rachel," Quinn says, leading Rachel up the stairs and shooting her dad one final look.

"Sit down," Quinn says as Rachel enters the room and she closes the door behind them, Rachel obliges, taking in the pleasant atmosphere of Quinn's room.

"I see you like mermaids," Rachel says noticing the posters and charts on her walls and books strewn about.

"It's just a hobby of mine," Quinn says, sitting down next to Rachel. "It's silly I know."

"I don't think it's silly, I think it's too bad that mermaids aren't real, don't you?"

Quinn narrows her eyes at the smaller girl again, "Yeah," she says after a pause. "It's too bad."

"So what did you want to talk about?" Rachel asks again.

"Listen, you love Finn right?"

"More than anyone else in the entire world," Rachel says, a genuine smile reaching her lips.

"That makes this even harder," Quinn says. "Rachel, I want us to be friends, and as your friend I think you should know that Finn isn't who you think he is."

"Wh-who is he?" Rachel stammers.

"You must know that this happened before I knew about you," Quinn continues.

"What happened, what are you talking about?"

"A year ago, after the fourth of July festival, me and Finn, well…"

"What?" Rachel says.

"We slept together Rachel," Quinn says.

"Oh," Rachel says. "Well I suppose if you were both tired—

"No that's not what I mean," Quinn says in frustration. "Me and Finn had sex."

Rachel knits her brow in confusion, not sure what to say or how to feel, she knows that she doesn't believe Quinn, she knows that Finn would never hurt her like that, but what did Quinn have to gain from lying?

"No," Rachel says. "I don't believe you."

"Rachel I'm sorry, I didn't know about you I swear."

"Finn would never have sex with you, he would never hurt me, he told me."

"Boys lie Rachel, it's what they do."

"And so do girls and that's what you're doing, you're lying," Rachel says with complete conviction.

"Rachel, I really didn't want you to hear this," Quinn says. She takes out the recorder then and plays back a bit of dialogue

"_What, should I tell her I had sex with someone else?"_ It was his voice coming out of the recorder, it was unmistakable, and as she hears it tears spring to her eyes and she places a hand over her mouth in shock, shaking her head.

"I'm so sorry Rachel," Quinn says placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Get off of me!" Rachel snaps and she springs to her feet and runs out of there.

"Wait, Rachel," Quinn says starting after her, but Rachel is gone in an instant.

"How could you let her get away?" Mr. Fabray says as Quinn meets him at the bottom of the stairs.

"It didn't work, she didn't change," Quinn says.

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her I slept with Finn."

"Well maybe it'll just take awhile to sink in, don't worry we'll get her Quinn. It's not like she's going anywhere."

"I'll follow her," Quinn says.

"You've done enough, leave this to me."

* * *

><p>Rachel marches back to Fishstix in a huff, she can't believe it, she won't believe it. There must be some sort of explanation, some sort of mistake. As Finn smiles that goofy smile at her when she enters the diner her heart sinks, that boy would never hurt her, that boy loved her.<p>

"I need to talk to you," she says firmly, her eyes still prickly with tears.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" he says, dropping his rag.

"I need to talk to you!" she repeats, louder.

"Okay, okay calm down," he says meeting her by the door. "Howard cover for me, I'll be right back."

He follows Rachel out, concerned, she's crying and she looks so angry, he should have known that talking to Quinn would be a bad idea.

"What did Quinn say to you?" Finn says.

"Not here, lets go back to your house, nobody's there," Rachel says.

"Rachel I have to work," Finn says, "Can't we just talk here?"

"Okay, you want to talk here," Rachel says the tears spilling over. "How could you?"

"I don't understand what I did."

"You had sex with Quinn, and you lied to me about it," she says, sobbing.

"Rachel no, she's lying okay I could never do that to you," he says desperately, grabbing her shoulders. "I love you, you know that."

"Why would she lie?"

"Because she's jealous can't you see that?"

"I heard you Finn, I heard you on the tape, I heard you say that you had sex with her, how could you do that? What if she gave you Chlamydia?"

"It wasn't me, she probably just paid a guy who sounds like me to say it."

"I would know your voice anywhere, it was you."

"Listen, maybe you're right, maybe this isn't the place to talk about this," Finn says as a couple of customers begin to shuffle in. "Come on," he continues, reaching for her hand, she pulls it away.

"No you're not allowed to hold my hand anymore Finn Hudson."

"Okay, but will you come with me?"

She simply nods and follows him toward his house, they walk in silence the whole time, he's going to kill Quinn, he can't believe she would do this to Rachel, to him, he didn't understand how one girl could be so evil.

"Okay, start talking," Rachel says as they enter his house and he closes the door behind him.

"Rachel I didn't cheat on you I promise."

"Why should I believe you?" She says.

"Because you love me Rachel, if you didn't you wouldn't still be human.

She crosses her arms and looks down at her feet. "She's so beautiful,"she says quietly.

"I know, but that doesn't mean that I have feelings for her, I love you, you know that I love you."

"She's also normal," Rachel argues. "And I'm not, I don't fit in, no matter what I'll never fit in."

"I don't care about that," he says. "I love that you're not like everyone else, and so what if you don't fit in? I don't fit in either."

"Yes you do," she scoffs.

"I'm in love with a mermaid, trust me, I don't."

She smiles a little at his comment but then forces it away. "I heard you, plain as day, I can't just ignore that.

"Rachel did you hear something?" he says.

"Don't change the subject," she says firmly.

"I'm not, I heard something," he says, knitting his brow. "It sounded like someone coming in through the back door." Suddenly Rachel's eyes widen, as if there's someone behind him.

"Finn watch-

She doesn't get a chance to finish, the next thing he knows she has been shot, there is some type of dart sticking out of her neck and her eyes roll back into her head as she begins to collapse.

"Rachel, no!" Finn says, crouching beside her and gathering the tiny girl into his arms, he looks up in the direction of whoever shot Rachel, but before he can get a good look there is a rope around his neck and he's being yanked away from her, being strangled, he can't breath, he can't think, his eyes are bugging out of his head and he's trying to call for help, to no avail. he reaches for the rope, trying to grab it, but he simply slaps at it uselessly, he's getting tired, his eyelids are getting heavy and before long, everything fades to black.

**Stay tuned folks!**

Return to


	13. The Death of Finn Hudson

**I promise, cross my heart and hope to die that this is the last time that I will change my pen name here. GrittyRe-Boot is my username on Tumblr and on IMDb the two other places I go to obsess about glee and finchel, so at least I have a better reason this time. This quick (but short) update comes to you courtesy of my 18 month old nephew. The little jerk made me sick, and since I work in food service I had to call off, no powering through for me. I'll probably post the last chapter of Speak later today too, in case any of you are reading that.**

"I always knew that there was something different about you," Quinn says, pacing back and forth in front of the tub. "The eyes are a dead giveaway, I'm sure that nobody else thinks anything of them, but I knew better, I knew what to look for."

Rachel simply cries bitterly, running her hand back and forth over her tail, not believing that this could be happening. Finn couldn't be dead, he couldn't be, but the other option couldn't be true either. She still loved him so much, she loved him endlessly, as angry as she was with him she still loved him. But maybe it was enough that she was so angry, that had to be it because Finn wasn't dead, even though she couldn't sense him anymore and she always could before, even when she was a mermaid before. But she had to put that thought out of her head, there had to be another reason she couldn't sense him because he couldn't be dead, he couldn't be. Still, she was a mermaid again, and if Jesse was correct, if she only had one shot at being human then everything that her and Finn had talked about was once again impossible. She wished that he were there, there to hold her and tell her that everything would be okay, that she wasn't alone, but she felt so alone, and scared and sad. Thus is what he meant when he said that not all humans were good.

"Where's Finn?" Rachel finally manages to choke out. "Did you kill him?"

"Of course not Rachel," the man from before, Mr. Fabray says. "We would never harm another person, you have our word."

"Are you going to kill _me_?" she says under her breath.

"If we were going to kill you we would have done it already," Quinn says. "You're worth far more to us alive."

"I want to see him, I want to see Finn,_ please_," Rachel says tearfully.

"That's over now Rachel," Mr. Fabray says. "But don't worry, Finn will be fine."

"He'll come look for me," Rachel says.

"Maybe he will, but he won't find you," Mr. Fabray says.

"She really is perfect isn't she daddy?" Quinn says allowing her father to put one arm around her. "She's everything we've been looking for."

"She's a gift from god," Mr. Fabray agrees. "And we're going to share her with the world."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Rachel sobs.

"Rachel it's not you," Quinn says, almost sympathetically. "It's just that me and my father have been waiting for a chance like this for years. And my mother left us because of it, but this proves that he isn't crazy, soon everyone will know that he was right all along. My mom will know that she was wrong to leave. Because of you my family will be complete again. And think of all the great things you can do for the world by simply existing. Geneticists, mythologists, all of the little girls the world over who will know that they were right to believe in magic, all of those people and more will feel validated by your existence."

"But Quinn, if the wrong people find out what I am they'll try to hurt me, they'll lock me away. You have to let me go, you have to call Finn."

"Why would you want to go back to the boy who betrayed you?" Quinn says.

Rachel swallows thickly at the reminder. "Even if Finn did what you said he did, I have to try to work it out, I love him and he loves me."

"Oh yeah, then why are you a mermaid again?"

Rachel narrows her eyes at Quinn, and it suddenly dawns on her. "Wait a minute, you knew? You knew that I would turn back if I didn't love Finn anymore didn't you? You lied to me."

"I did what I had to do, but none of that matters now," Quinn says, and her voice quavers as she says it, as if she's actually guilty. "Daddy, it's time. Get the camera, we have some footage to record."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile...<em>

He's on a beach, their beach. It's in the middle of the day, but everything is so quiet, eerily quiet. There is no one around for miles, but he can hear singing, the faint noise of singing in the far off distance. It's her, he would know her voice anywhere. He has to follow it, it isn't enough to walk aimlessly, he runs, from one end of the beach to the other, but no matter what direction he runs in the voice just gets further away, he can't find her. But he has to find her, he has to save her, because he promised her, he promised to protect her, he promised to show her everything, he has to find her, he has to help her. He runs, he keeps running, trying to find the source of her voice, until finally something stops him. He crashes into something big and broad and lands backward into the sand. He opens his eyes, his vision is hazy at first but soon he makes out the face staring down at him, the face he hasn't seen since he was ten years old.

"Dad?" he says warily. "Is that... is that you?"

"Let's walk son," the man says, reaching out his hand for him. Finn hesitantly grabs it and the man pulls him to his feet in one quick motion.

"Am I dreaming?" Finn says, reaching out to touch the older man.

"No, you're not dreaming," the man chuckles.

"So it's really you?" Finn says, perking up. "I can't believe this," Finn says, throwing his arms around him, the man returns the hug warmly. "We have to tell mom, she's going to freak out. And I don't know quite how to say this but she remarried two years ago, you'll like him though, he's nice."

"Whoa whoa whoa, kid slow down. This isn't what you think."

"But you said this wasn't a dream."

"It's not, you're dead."

"I'm dead?" he repeats. "But how?"

"A man strangled you to death in your kitchen, don't you remember? You were there."

He narrows his eyes, trying to recall the events that brought him there, everything is fuzzy but he remembers, he remembers Rachel yelling at him, only to be silenced by a tranq dart that came seemingly out of nowhere, and he remembers kneeling by her side only to be yanked away by a tight rope.

"Oh my god," Finn says, grabbing his hair in frustration. "Rachel, no. I have to save her, I have to help her.

"Son, don't you see? You're dead, you can't help her."

"No, I can't be dead, I can't be."

"But you are."

"You're my dad, don't you think you should be a bit more comforting?" At that Finn collapses into a sitting position on the sand, his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry," the man says, sitting next to him. "I guess I've gotten used to it, I didn't think about how weird this would be for you."

"You mean to tell me you've been here for seven years?" Finn says.

"What? No, not here. They just sent me back to get you, we're going someplace a lot nicer, trust me."

"I don't want to go," Finn says. "There has to be another way. Don't get me wrong it's great to see you but I can't go like this. She doesn't have anybody else."

"Rachel?"

"The girl that saved my life the night you died, the girl I love. She needs me dad."

"I wish I could help, but it really isn't my area."

The tears begin to gather in Finn's eyes then and all the man can do is put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Finn grabs the man's hand on his shoulder and holds it, still crying bitterly.

"Son, I'm sure that Rachel will be just fine."

"Somebody was trying to get to her, before they killed me they shot her with a dart, they were trying to take her. If I don't go back then she'll die. Please dad you have to help me." He then pleads silently with his tear drenched eyes.

"You really love this girl don't you?"

"Yes, and I have to help her."

The man gives Finn a small smile. "I remember that feeling, it's how I felt about you mom, from the first moment I saw her I knew."

"Then you understand why I have to go back?"

"Look, if you tell anyone about this I'll get into major trouble with the guys upstairs," the man says, shifting his eyes back and forth. "But she saved your life, so that means I have no choice but to save hers."

"So you mean-

"Clear!"

Finn feels the electricity shooting through his chest in an instant and his eyes open for a second, only to close again and almost as soon as he leaves he's back on the beach.

"Where did I go?" Finn says confusedly.

"I'm sending you back Finn, but if you decide to kick the bucket again I can't help you," the man says. "We're only allowed one. Now give me a hug, I'm not going to see you again for a long time."

Finn smiles and hugs his father tightly.

"You grew up real nice kid," the man says as he releases Finn from his embrace.

"Thanks."

"Now before you go, tell me one thing, this man your mom remarried, he's not better looking than me is he?"

"No, I think he's bald actually, he always wears a baseball cap."

"Good to know. I love you son."

"I love you too-

"Clear!"

He feels the electricity again, and he can hear crying and he can see bright lights and hazy shapes, he can feel the soreness in his throat and he can taste blood. And he can taste it more as he begins to cough.

"Oh my god, oh my baby!" Carole says, throwing her arms around Finn. "My baby, you're okay."

"What happened?" Finn says, his voice hoarse.

"We lost you there for a second," the paramedic says, if your friend hadn't come by when she did you'd be a goner. "Good thing she knew CPR, it kept the oxygen flowing until we got here."

"You owe me big Frankenteen," Santana says, there are tears gathered in her eyes too, and a small smile on her face. "First you make me walk all the way over here to get that DVD set you never returned then I have to save your ass too. By the way, lay off the skittles, your teeth will thank you."

"Thanks Santana," he says, softly smiling back.

"Unfortunately your heart did stop beating for about 2 minutes, we almost had to declare you legally dead," The paramedic says.

"I was so worried honey," Carole says, stroking his hair gently.

Just then Finn's small smile dissolves into a look of panic. "Rachel, where's Rachel?"

"Honey, you have to relax," Carole says. "The police are going to want to get your statement."

"No I have to find her," Finn says, scrambling up from the floor, running out of there without awaiting further protest, but Carole gets up and goes after him.

"Finn! Finn wait."

He stops and turns to face her. "Mom, Rachel is in trouble and I have to find her."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's something you need to know," he says hesitantly. "I should have just told you before but I was so afraid of how you'd react."

"Oh no," Carole says, putting her hands over her mouth. "She's not pregnant is she?"

"No, she's not pregnant." he says, frustrated

"Thank god."

"Mom, this is going to sound crazy, but... Rachel..."

"What honey?"

"Rachel isn't human."

* * *

><p><strong>Did I add the CPR reference with Santana in because I'm secretly a bit of a Finntana shipper? You'll never know... and yes, yes I did, and I regret nothing. Will Finn's mother believe him? Will he be able to save Rachel? Keep reading folks!<strong>


	14. The Broken Tether

**Well I'm feeling better now, but I really didn't appreciate missing out on 16 hours pay, I could have gotten my brakes fixed, paid my cell phone bill and finally gotten my pull list out with that money. Oh well, moving on now, I hope you enjoy this update, I should post the epilogue for Speak by tonight so keep your eyes open for it.**

Carole's face is hard to read, he knows that she doesn't believe what she's hearing, because how could she? But he has to convince her somehow, he has to get her to help.

"What do you mean Finn?" Carole says carefully. "What do you mean Rachel isn't human?"

He exhales sharply, wondering silently where to even begin.

"Rachel isn't from Atlanta mom, she's from… she's from _the Atlantic_"he says rather vaguely, and he knows that she's just as confused as she was before. "She's a mermaid," he finally admits, knowing exactly how insane he must sound.

"Honey we need to get you to a hospital," Carole says, unconvinced and clearly concerned.

"Mom, I swear to god I'm not imagining this. She's a mermaid, I met her for the first time the night that dad died. She saved me from the wreck. And we've been together ever since, all of those times I snuck out at night, it was to see her, we couldn't be together in the daytime because she couldn't be seen, but a few days ago, we fell asleep together on my boat and when I woke up she was human."

"Finn—

"You have to listen to me," he insists, an intense look in his eye. "I know this sounds crazy but it happened."

"But Finn, what you're saying is impossible."

"It's not impossible mom. Didn't you ever wonder how I survived at all? How I could possibly have swam that far by myself?"

"It was a miracle, that's what we've always said," her voice is breaking and her eyes are wide now, it's official, his mother thinks he's insane.

"It _was_ a miracle, Rachel was my miracle," Finn says. "She saved me, and now she's been taken and I have to find her."

"What do you mean she's been taken?"

"The guy who attacked me, he was after Rachel, he shot her with a tranq dart and tried to kill me—

"Okay Finn that's enough," she says snappishly, raising her voice and throwing her hands up frantically. "This is crazy, you actually expect me to believe that your girlfriend is a mermaid?"

"I expect you to be there for me, like you always are," Finn says, standing his ground even as his eyes begin to tear. "I don't need you to believe me I just need you to help me."

She looks at him, her face both sympathetic and terrified, and she's crying now too, because her son who for years has always appeared to have some sort of secret life is finally revealing just how secret it is, and she has absolutely no idea how to react. He just seems so certain, and if even if she doesn't believe that Rachel is a mermaid, she believes that he believes it, and that's what scares her most of all.

"I don't know how to respond to this Finn," she says, shaking her head.

"Just help me, please," he says pleadingly, desperately grabbing both of her hands in his. And she looks at him, wide eyed and scared, but loving him so much at the same time, crazy or not.

"What do you want me to do?" she says hesitantly.

"Go find Burt and Kurt, tell them what I told you, convince them somehow. I have to find Jesse."

* * *

><p>She can't stop crying, and shaking and staring at her tail, wishing it would turn back to legs so she can run away, run to Finn. She squeezes her eyes shut, trying to sense him, find him, but she can't, the tether is broken. Still, she feels so much overwhelming love for him, and can recall everything about him so vividly, his gentle voice, the feel of his lips on hers, his smell, and it brings her comfort even as Mr. Fabray circles the tub, the video camera clutched in his hand.<p>

"June 15 2011, 9:28 p.m. the creature has been captured, as you can see she is unmistakably a half-humanoid half-ichthyoid hybrid. She is in remarkable shape, as you can see the tail is exceptionall—

He stops in the middle of his monologue, needing to find a towel as Rachel took the opportunity to angrily flap her fin, splashing Mr. Fabray and his camera quite thoroughly. In spite of herself she almost wishes that Quinn were here, if she had so be stuck in this hellhole than Quinn was surely better company than her father, she should have insisted he went out to get her food instead of Quinn.

"Rachel I warned you about that," Mr. Fabray says toweling off his camera before the water can do any real damage. "Breaking my camera isn't going to change anything."

"I want to see Finn!" She fumes.

"I told you Finn is—

"I want to see him, now!" She insists, growing angrier and more frustrated by the minute. "You have no right to keep me here and you have no right to keep him away from me, let me see him right now or—

"Or what?" he snaps. "What are you going to do? If you hadn't noticed you're sort of at my mercy right now."

"I'll scream, I'll scream so loud that someone is bound to come for me," Rachel says faux-confidently.

"Good luck explaining the tail," Mr. Fabray says, "You may not know it but I'm your best friend right now, nobody understands your kind the way I do, nobody respects it the way I do, leave it to some other dumb hick on this island and you'll be nothing more than a circus freak before you know it."

"That's not true, Finn would nev—

"God wake up!" Mr. Fabray fumes. "Finn Hudson is dead."

Her blood runs cold at his words and she can actually feel her heart breaking in her chest, it can't be true, she won't believe it. Not her Finn. But the tether, it was broken, she couldn't find him anymore. The tears spill over as she thinks of him, thinks of him dying, and she can't imagine it, she can't imagine anything but his hearty laugh and his kind beautiful face, and holding his hand and singing with him and kissing him and making love to him, seeing his memories. She just can't picture him dead.

"Please tell me that's not true."

She was so shocked by Mr. Fabray's words she didn't even hear Quinn come in behind him.

"Honey I…

"Tell me it's not true dad," Quinn repeats insistently, her voice quivering.

"We're not going to talk about this here, there are more important matters at hand," Mr. Fabray says.

"More important than a boy's life dad? My _friend's_ life?" Quinn says, her voice still shaking, and Rachel realizes that there are tears in Quinn's eyes.

"Quinn I…" Mr. Fabray is clearly at a loss for words, and Quinn continues to cry, her face aghast, and Rahel realizes something, Quinn may be a bitch and a psycho, but she's no killer, she's not her dad.

"Did you kill Finn daddy?" Quinn says.

"I did what I had to do," he finally admits, and Quinn's hands cover her mouth in shock and Rachel dissolves into bitter tears. Her heart breaking more and more as each second passed by, she hated being so helpless, her hands tied, unable to walk, unable to run, unable to make the man who killed Finn suffer for it.

"How could you?" Quinn says.

"What choice did I have?" He says. "We were so close Quinn, so close to everything we've ever dreamed of, everything we've worked for, I know how much you wanted this honey."

"Not like this," Quinn says, shaking her head before turning around to leave.

"Quinn, wait," Rachel pleads, barely audible over the heavy tears in her throat. "Please."

"I'm sorry," Quinn says tearfully, turning back once more. "I'm so sorry Rachel."

* * *

><p>He stands on his boat, far out into the sea, holding his lantern out as he has done so many times before, it's late, not late enough for the beach to be completely deserted, but Rachel's life is at stake and he has to risk it. There are no boats around at least. He remembers when it was so easy to find Rachel, all he had to do was think about her and he could see her so clearly, it couldn't really be gone. He needed that connection to her, he needed to feel it again. He needs to see her, to touch her and hear her voice, to know that she's safe, but that certainty is lost. All that's left is fear, and anxiety and sadness, and somehow the most painful feeling of all, hope.<p>

"Jesse!" he calls out. knowing how much of a longshot it is, and if Jesse is the one who took Rachel he certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to come back, he couldn't think of anyone else who would have a reason to take her, or who knew that he had to die in order to do it, it was the only thing he had to go on, so he kept at it. "I know you're out there you son of a bitch!"

He waits, waits for a splash, a call, something, but there's only stillness, only quiet. He doesn't want to give up, but he knows he needs to move on, that's there is no way that he's going to find Jesse this way, so he revs his boat and starts to think of a new plan. It's a small island, if Rachel is still on it she can't be that hard to find, he prays that she is, that he can find her somehow.

He docks his boat and scrambles out of it, running back home, his neck still hurts, and it's harder to breath, but he powers through, running toward his house. The cops are gone when he gets there, he knows he still has to go to the police eventually to tell them about the nameless man who tried to kill him. But now the only thing that matters is Rachel.

"Mom," Finn says, hugging his mother upon entering the house, Burt and Kurt are there too, and they all look just as freaked out as she does.

"Son, is everything alright?" Burt says carefully.

"No, I couldn't find Jesse," Finn says. "I don't even know where to start."

"Finn, you don't honestly expect us to believe all this do you?" Kurt says.

"Why else would Rachel go though her whole life never having heard of My Fair Lady?" Finn says.

"Okay, I believe him," Kurt says, shrugging.

"I believe him too," Carole says warmly, even though her face is still conflicted. "I believe that he believes it."

"Has everyone here completely lost their minds?" Burt says. "Rachel is not a mermaid, okay, there's no such thing as mermaids, and even if there were, I've seen Rachel, she may be a little weird but she's obviously human. We need to get Finn to the hospital and he needs to talk to the cops about who broke into our house and almost killed him."

"I'm fine Burt, I promise," Finn insists. "The important thing is that we find Rachel, but I don't even know where to start, I don't even know if she's still human."

"Are you hearing the words that are coming out of your mouth right now?" Burt says.

"Look, I don't care if you think I'm crazy," Finn says bluntly. "That's not important right now. We have to spread out, ask around, ask anyone if they've seen Rachel or Jesse. It's the only thing I can think of. But don't mention the mermaid thing."

"Really, because I was just thinking about how much I want to be institutionalized," Kurt says sarcastically.

"Can't we file a missing person report?" Burt says

"Not for a person who doesn't exist," Finn says. "We don't have anymore time to spare, we have to move," he turns toward to leave, but when he opens the door he stops short, his face shocked.

It's Jesse, his hand raised as if he's about to knock, and it takes everything in him not to punch the shorter boy in the face, but he knows that it couldn't have been him, he wouldn't have came back if it were him, even if Rachel turned human again when he was brought back to life.

"Where is she?" Finn says through clenched teeth.

"She's here," Jesse says uneasily, "She's on the island but I think she might be in trouble, I saw her, she's in a tub in someone's bathroom and her hands are tied and…"

"And what?" Finn says, urging him on frantically.

"Can we talk about this in front of them?" Jesse says quietly.

"They're okay," Finn insists. "What else?"

"She's a mermaid again," Jesse says.

"So it's true," Finn says sadly. "Once I die she turns back for good."

"Wait, you died?" Jesse says confusedly.

"A little bit, yeah," Finn says sheepishly.

"Wait a minute," Burt says. "you mean…"

"Rachel is a mermaid" Finn says again, insistently. "And so is Jesse, sometimes."

"Well, merman, but you get the drift," Jesse says.

"This is insane," Burt says, and he can tell that they're finally starting to get through to him.

"So you know where she is? We have to find her," Finn says.

"I know that she's in someone's bathroom but I can't find her exact location unless we're both mermaids, once I turned I lost the ability to sense her."

"This bathroom, what does it look like?" Finn says. "Were there any people around?"

"There was a man, and a blonde girl but I could only see them from behind," Jesse says. "Rachel looked really scared Finn."

Finn knits his brow in contemplation. "Wait a minute… a blonde girl?"

"What, do you know something?" Jesse says.

"She told Rachel that we slept together," Finn says, knowing he's not making any sense. "I thought she was just… Oh god," at the realization he bolts out the door without another word.

"Where are you going?" Carole calls after him

"What do you know?" Jesse adds.

"I think I know who has Rachel!" he cries back, not stopping and they follow, needing no further convincing.

**Team Hudson-Hummel (and Jesse) to the rescue! Stay tuned folks.**


	15. Escape

**Sorry I took so long to update, especially since it isn't an especially long chapter. It's been a busy week, but we're almost at the end now!  
><strong>

She lays on her side, her knees pulled up to her chest. It's all her fault, she knows it's her fault. Finn wasn't exactly her closest friend, but he was a good person, kind and decent and completely innocent, and he didn't deserve to die, not even if it would bring her mother back. She wished she knew what to say to Rachel, all of her life she had imagined finding the mermaid, of becoming wealthy and famous and proving everyone wrong, but she never imagined that it would involve killing someone. And Rachel, the girl until a few days ago had been nothing but a faceless dream, was more human than she ever would have imagined. She felt excitement, and despair and the purest, strongest love. She loved Finn, it wasn't just some infatuation with a lucky human who was in the right place at the right time, she truly loved him, and while she could have lived with Rachel thinking he had cheated, death was so final, so irreversible, and he was not only gone from Rachel's life, he was gone from the lives of everyone who loved him, and there was nothing she could do, nothing at all to make it right.

"Quinnie?" Mr. Fabray says softly, knocking on the door.

"Go away," Quinn replies, her voice thick with tears.

"Honey, it was the only way," he says pleadingly.

"I said go away!"

The knocking ceases and she can hear the man walking away, his footsteps getting quieter until they disappear. She pulls her knees up to her chest more and continues to cry bitterly, she closes her eyes, she wants to sleep, she just wants the unbearable guilt to go away, but she can't sleep, she can't stop thinking about Finn, about Rachel, about her father the murderer. Her father, who she loved more than anything was a murderer. She can't make things right, but she doesn't have to become him either, she doesn't have to stay. She shoots out of bed and grabs her large duffel bag off of the top shelf of her closet and frantically grabs every piece of clothing she owns out of her closet, not even bothering to get all of them off of the hangers. She stuffs the bag haphazardly, with clothes and shoes and anything else she might need. She yanks open her nightstand drawer, pulls out the false bottom and grabs the roll of bills she keeps there, almost 1000 dollars she saved working at the caricature booth at the fourth of July festival over the last two summers. She shoves it in her bag along with a framed portrait of her and her mother on the beach, the last one they had ever taken together. She'll find her and the two of them will be together, mermaid or no mermaid, father or no father.

She can't go out through the front door, her father will stop her. She heads for the window, pushing the duffel bag through with some effort and climbing out after it. She looks back one more time, one more time at her home, the only one she's ever known, and her father, the one she loves in spite of it all. She swallows hard and wipes the stray tear from her face before beginning her climb down from the balcony. But as she hears it, the sound of sniffling and crying from the bathroom window, so faint that she can barely make it out, she stops. If she leaves, Rachel will be all alone with him, doomed to spend the rest of her life being studied in some lab. She had spent the better part of her life believing that exposing the mermaid was the right thing, that it was for the good of mankind, but the man who had raised her to believe that was the same man who killed an innocent teenager, that man couldn't have been right. She couldn't bring Finn back, but she can still help Rachel, she can still get her back to the ocean somehow, back home before the suits can come for her. She bites her lip and continues descending the ladder, she's made her decision, somehow, even if she has to come back when her father is sleeping, she'll get Rachel out of there. She keeps climbing down, wondering how she'll possibly pull it off, but before she can reach the ground she is yanked away from the ladder by a pair of strong, angry hands. Her father, it's too late, she's been caught.

"Where is she?" he roars, his face close to hers, and she can't answer, because she can't believe what she's seeing. It can't be.

"Finn?" she whispers, and for a small moment he looks confused, but the look of confusion once again turns angry.

"Where is she Quinn? I know you took her," he demands. But once again she doesn't answer, her face breaks out into a beaming smile and she throws her arms around him, and he has to take a step back because he's clearly confused.

"Oh my god Finn, you're alive, I should have known, I should have known my father wasn't a murderer," she cries tearfully, hugging him so tight. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Wait just a minute," Finn says, pushing her off. "Your dad is the one who tried to kill me?"

Quinn simply looks at him, and he flinches a little as she pulls the collar of his shirt down, revealing the deep bruise along his neck, and she places her hand over her mouth in shock. "Oh my god," She says quietly, fresh tears springing to her eyes.

"Finn, did you find her?" Finn turns his head toward the sound of Jesse's voice as he runs up to him, Finn's parents and Kurt in tow.

"Finn, what's going on?" Burt says, winded.

"Quinn's dad tried to kill me and he took Rachel from me," Finn says. "Why?" he seethes, turning back to face Quinn.

"Because we knew," Quinn says tearfully. "We knew what she was, and my dad, he's been looking for her for years but I never thought that he would do something like this. I swear to you I didn't know." He has to loosen his grip on her, she looks so messed up over this.

"Where is she Quinn?" Finn asks again, more gently this time.

"And where's the sonofabitch who tried to kill my son?" Carole says angrily.

"You have to be quiet," Quinn says, shifting her gaze back and forth. "The rest of you go back," she continues, taking Finn by the wrist.

"No way, I'm going to kill this asshole," Burt says, charging forward.

"If you want to get Rachel back then you have to do what I say, go back, all of you," Quinn demands. They don't move until Finn looks back at them and gives them the nod.

"Finn no," Carole says, "We're not leaving you."

"We have to call the cops," Kurt says desperately.

"No," Finn protests, "If the wrong people find out about Rachel... I'm not going to let her get sent away to be cut up by some government lab geeks alright?"

"I can distract my dad long enough for Finn to get Rachel out of there but all of you won't be able to get past him."

"Get past who Quinnie?"

Finn's blood runs cold at the sound of the voice, and when he turns his head to face him, his fears are confirmed. He's only met Mr. Fabray once or twice but he remembers his face well enough to know that they're all screwed.

"Didn't I kill you?" Mr. Fabray says coldly, guiltlessly.

"You sonofabitch!" Burt seethes, lunging at the blonde man, but he is stopped in his tracks immediately when Mr. Fabray pulls out the handgun, pointing it directly at Burt's chest.

"I wouldn't do that," Mr. Fabray says, as Burt reluctantly raises his hands. "Quinn, I'm very disappointed in you, what about everything we've worked for huh? You're going to throw that all away because of a little tiff?"

"Tiff?" Quinn says not believeing her ears. "You tried to kill Finn daddy."

"And clearly he pulled through alright, so I suggest you all go home and pretend this never happened, or maybe next time I'll be a little more successful."

"What's happened to you?" Quinn says brokenly. "This isn't you daddy."

"This_ is_ me, I'm the man who's been searching for her since before you were born, and now that I've found her none of you are going to take her away, now get off my property."

"Let them go, they have nothing to do with any of this," Finn insists. "But I'm not leaving without Rachel."

"And we're not leaving without you," Carole says.

"What is it that you're not understanding here," Mr. Fabray says. "The mermaid is mine now."

"You can't do this," Kurt says, "She's not your property, you can't just take her."

"Why? there's no law against it, unless there are some special mermaid rights in the constitution that I'm unaware of," Mr. Fabray says."Now I asked you nicely, get off of my property."

"You can't just shoot me in your backyard, someone will hear, you'll never get away with this," Burt argues.

"I'll take my chances."

"No!" Finn cries. "Listen, if you let Rachel and the rest of us go you can take Jesse."

"Wait, what?" Jesse says, clearly surprised.

"You want a mermaid right? What does it matter which one it is?" Finn says.

"You mean to tell me that he's a merman?" Mr. Fabray says.

"Finn what are you doing?" Jesse says under his breath. "I mean, I know we didn't exactly get off on the right foot but come on. I helped you."

"Quinn, is this the other one you were talking about?" Mr. Fabray says, and she can't answer, she simply looks shocked, they all look shocked, Finn can't blame them.

"Look at his eyes," Finn says. And he takes Jesse by the arm and pulls him into the light with a bit of struggle, revealing his glowing blue orbs.

"Remarkable," Mr. Fabray says focusing on Jesse's eyes. "I have to say, I'm tempted, but unfortunately the mermaid in there is an actual mermaid. Anyone else who saw this guy and didn't know any better would just see a human with some freaky eyes."

"But he can change at will, he's a hybrid," Finn says. "That's even better."

"Why are you doing this Finn?" Jesse says.

"I'm sorry buddy, but it's either you or her, and I choose her," Finn says.

"I heard the tape, you are a hybrid aren't you?" Mr. Fabray says, turning the gun on Jesse. "Well, what are you waiting for? Change."

"Thanks a lot Finn," Jesse says dejectedly.

"I'd do what he says Jesse," Finn insists. "He has a gun."

**One chapter left before the epilogue, stay tuned folks!**


	16. The Mermaid Solution

**Final chapter before the epilogue, I was originally going to combine this chapter with the last one, but what can I say? I just love a cliffhanger.**

Mr. Fabray fixes the gun unflinchingly on Jesse, who is clearly trying to hide the hint of fear behind his eyes, he knows that he can't stall him for long, he already has Rachel, his patience isn't exactly something Jesse would want to grapple with for too long.

"You heard me, change," Mr. Fabray says, cocking the pistol, and Finn can swear that Jesse flinches a tiny bit at the clicking noise, but he has to let this happen, it's the only way he's going to save Rachel, and Finn stands his ground even as Jesse gives him that heartbreaking, pleading look.

"Okay," Jesse finally says, his voice breaking. "I'll do it, but I have to take these off first, they'll just get in the way." At that he pulls down his pants and underwear, his shirt just long enough to allow for a bit of modesty in front of everyone, even though Finn knows that bodily shame isn't something that mermaids are familiar with, and he sits on the ground, preparing himself for the change. It happens so fast that Finn can't be sure that it happened at all, it's almost as if he blinked and upon opening his eyes again, Jesse's tail had resurfaced in front of all of them. Their faces are exactly what he expected, up until that very moment he knew that at least Burt was still a bit skeptical, but that was over now, there was no denying what they all just saw.

"Okay are you sure I'm not the one who died?" Burt says confusedly.

"Remarkable," Mr. Fabray says, clearly more amazed than all of them, so much so that he finally lowers the gun, the very action that Finn was counting on. He doesn't have a moment to spare, no time to hesitate or fear the worst, no time to think at all, just act, and he does, tackling Mr. Fabray to the ground in one swift move, taking advantage of his distraction and wrestling the gun away. Before Mr. Fabray can fight back Finn presses the gun to his temple, stopping him in his tracks.

"Go, get Rachel," Finn cries, and they are all too taken aback by everything that has just happened to move right away. "Go, now!"

Finally they oblige and Kurt, Carole and Burt head into the house while Quinn stands there, clearly torn up about everything that's happening, and Jesse sits there, still a merman, still clearly freaked out.

"You can change back now Jesse, it's okay," Finn says, his eyes still fixed on Mr. Fabray, and he does after a moment and scrambles up to put his pants back on.

"Finn please," Quinn says, tearfully. "I know what my father did was awful but you can't do this, please."

"She's right Finn," Mr. Fabray says pleadingly. "I'm all she has, you wouldn't take me away from her would you?"

"No," Finn says after a moment. And instead of shooting him he punches the older man as hard as he can, slamming the back of his head into the concrete and knocking him out cold. "I'm not like you."

"Is he going to be okay?" Quinn says timidly as Finn climbs away from her unconscious father.

"He'll be fine," Finn says. "Jesse? Are you okay?" He continues, turning to the other boy.

"I'm just amazed that you did that," Jesse says.

"Thanks," Finn says.

"No I mean I'm amazed at your stupidity," Jesse corrects. "Was that really the best plan you could think of? Using me to distract him so you could tackle him?"

"It worked didn't it?" Finn says, shrugging. "Here, take this," he continues, handing Jesse the gun. "You guys stay out here with him, if he wakes up and tries to fight you I want you to shoot out his kneecaps."

"It would be my pleasure," Jesse says, admiring the gun in his hands.

"I'm going to go get my girl back," Finn says starting toward the door.

"Finn, wait!" Quinn calls out, stopping Finn in his tracks. She walks up to him tentatively, that look of guilt still in her eyes. "I'm sorry, about you, about Rachel," she continues tearfully. "I'm just so, so sorry."

"I know Quinn," he says. "Stay with your dad, okay?"

"Okay," she says, nodding frantically. And he turns once again to enter the house.

He follows the voices to the bathroom, he can't make out everything they are saying because they're all speaking so frantically and talking over each other but he can hear different variations of "I can't believe this," and "this is insane" and words like_ miracle_, and _magic_ and _dreaming_, but as he opens the door and enters the bathroom, everything goes silent. His heart breaks immediately at the sight of her, sitting in the tub, her eyes puffy and blood shot, deep welts on her wrists from where her hands had been bound, her coral tail hanging uselessly over the rim of the tub, his girl, his angel. She looks at him as if he's a ghost as he slowly and wordlessly approaches the tub, kneeling down beside it, the other three backing away, giving them some space. Before saying a word she reaches out to touch him, she touches his face and his lips, his bruised neck, as if she expects her hand to go right through him like an apparition. He grabs the hand that touches him in his, holding it firmly, letting her know that he's real, that he's not going anywhere and her face dissolves into tears and she throws her arms around him, sobbing violently as she holds him, and he holds her, stroking her wet hair, and he's crying too because how could he not?

"I was so scared," she says, or at least he thinks that's what she's saying, it's hard to tell, with her face buried in his neck and her voice thick with sobs. "I thought you were dead."

"I was," he says tearfully. "But I'm okay now, everything's going to be okay, I promise you. I'm going to get you out of here."

She pulls away from him and looks at his face again and her own breaks into a relieved smile and she kisses him, deeply and urgently and he kisses her back, clinging to her mouth like it's his only source of oxygen, exploring it, losing himself in it once again.

"I'm so sorry," Finn says, still crying as he breaks the kiss. "I failed you, I was supposed to protect you and I failed you, but I promise I'll make this right somehow, I will."

"Shh," she says, putting her fingers up to his lips. "It's okay Finn, I'm just so thankful that we're together now. I thought I'd never see you again. I thought I'd lost you."

"Baby that will never happen," he says, his voice still shaky with tears. "And I don't care if you're a mermaid and I'm human, we'll make it work somehow, we made it work for seven years, we can do this Rachel. And even if we can't have sex anymore you mean so much more to me than that. And you can spend some nights in my tub and you know, we can learn sign language and I can buy a scuba suit because I've been meaning to buy one anyway and I can spend time underwater with you and I can meet your dad and we can do this, we can be together, I need us to be together because I'm so fucking lost without you Rachel."

"I love you," she says simply in almost a in a whisper.

"Oh god I love you so much!" he says, practically sobbing now, and he kisses her again and holds her close to him, getting his shirt wet.

"Um Finn," Carole says softly as they kiss. He honestly forgot that they were still there.

"Oh right, we have to get you back to the ocean," Finn says miserably.

"Not sure if that's going to be necessary," Kurt replies, and Finn knits his brow in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Finn says, wiping his eyes and trying to pull himself back together.

"Finn," Rachel says, tugging at his shirt and forcing him to turn his gaze from Kurt back to her. "Look."

His eyes go wide when he finally realizes what Kurt is talking about, and he doesn't know how it happened, or when it happened (probably when he was rambling like an idiot) but they're back, plain as day her legs are back.

"But, how?" Rachel says. "Jesse said that I couldn't turn back."

"I guess he didn't count on me coming back to life," Finn says.

"Or me falling in love with you all over again," Rachel beams.

"Either that or he was lying," Finn says. "I mean Jesse's a good guy and everything but he's kind of a douche."

"Do you know what this means?" Rachel says excitedly, as their whole world is renewed in an instant.

"Yeah," Burt says. "It means lets get the hell out of here."

* * *

><p>They leave the Fabray's house together, hand in hand, Rachel wearing Finn's overshirt, their family following closely behind. Mr. Fabray is still unconcious on the ground and they know that they'll have to deal with him eventually, but for now they're all just happy that Rachel is safe.<p>

"Oh my god," Jesse says staring at Rachel with awe, and perhaps a bit of sadness. "Your legs are back."

"I know," Rachel beams "I suppose we just needed to renew our connection. It wasn't enough for Finn to come back to life, I had to know it. We had to be close again."

"Oh boy," Jesse says. "So does this mean you're not coming home?"

"I'm sorry Jesse but even when I thought Finn cheated on me I still loved him enough to stay human, so unless he dies again which will happen over my dead body, I'm here to stay."

"Well then I guess I should tell you this then, and please don't be mad at me, but..."

"What Jesse?" Finn says suspiciously.

"You could have come home any time you wanted," Jesse says.

"Wait, what?" Finn says.

"Being with Finn didn't make you human, it just made you adapt enough to be with him, you still have the same abilities you did as a mermaid, you can still breath underwater, you can still swim like lightning provided you can figure out how those legs work, you can still do it all. It took my dad six months to realize that."

"So you lied to me?" Rachel says sternly.

"I'm sorry, what can I say? I thought I was protecting you, but I realized something, Finn, although mentally and musically inferior to me in every way, isn't such a bad guy."

"Gee, thanks," Finn says, still pissed.

"And, there's something else," Jesse continues.

"What, do _I_ have mermaid powers that you failed to mention," Finn says, rolling his eyes.

"How did you guess?" Jesse says.

"Wait, what?" Finn says confusedly.

"Rachel isn't the only one who absorbed your abilities, you absorbed hers too," Jesse admits reluctantly. "From her you got the ability to breath underwater, survive at extreme depths, communicate telepathically, see her memories, learn human languages through touch and sense her presence wherever she is. And from you she got, I don't know, the ability to wear pants I guess."

"Oh my god," Finn says quietly, still not believing what he's hearing, he has to admit it makes sense, well in context anyway. And it explains why he could see Rachel's memories when they were together and why he always knew how to find her wherever she was, and as pissed as he is at Jesse for keeping all of this from him, his anger is lost in his excitement and fear and confusion."So you're saying I'm like Aquaman now?"

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Jesse says coolly.

"This is incredible, you're saying that me and Finn can be together on land and in the ocean?" Rachel says giddily.

"Yes, and the abilities get stronger over time, expect your eyes to start glowing after a few more days," Jesse explains."You wouldn't believe how shocked my mom was the first time she found out that she could breath underwater, I swear she was under there for a solid two hours, my dad had to force her to come out." Jesse continues fondly.

"This is unreal," Burt says, "First I find out that mermaids exist and now I find out that my stepson_ is_ one."

"Well it's a little more complicated than that but yes," Jesse says. "I suppose he is. But seeing as you both lack my ability to change at will I can take comfort in the fact that I'm still more powerful than both of you."

"What's going to happen now?" Carole says.

"I don't know," Finn replies. "I mean this is all a lot to take in."

"What about my dad?" Quinn says. "I mean, he's going to wake up eventually."

"Well I guess since we have the mermaid problem out of the way there's nothing keeping us from calling the cops now," Kurt says.

"I'm sorry Quinn, but your dad has to face the consequences for what he did to my son," Carole says.

Quinn nods as she blinks back tears. "I know. I know he does. I just wish everything could have been different you know?"

"I know sweetie," Carole says. "And I know that none of this was your fault.

"A lot of it was my fault actually," Quinn admits. "But I can make things right now, that's what matters."

"What about us Finn?" Rachel says. "What's going to happen to us?" Finn smiles and pulls her into his embrace, kissing her on the forehead.

"I don't know," He says. "But all of a sudden I feel like going swimming."

**Stay tuned for the epilogue folks!**


	17. Epilogue

**Happy Halloween you crazy kids, here is the final chapter of my hopefully breathtaking mermaid epic. I'm excited that I finally beat my old review record, now if you can help me make it to 200 reviews for the first time ever I'll be your best friend. Anyway I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it, you guys are the best!**

Carole is impressed with the job Kurt has done on the downstairs bedroom, it looks like her, the pink, the Broadway posters, the cat themed comforter (She knows he must have died a little inside when he picked it out for her). Burt didn't even pretend to be upset about giving up his gym, he can keep the treadmill in his and Carole's room and the weights in the den, it's not like he really ever used them anyway. Carole beams a little as he hangs the finishing touch on her wall. It's the rhinestone encrusted fish that he knew she would love, just a little something to remind her of home.

"So, what do you guys think?" Kurt says proudly.

"Oh Kurt, it's beautiful," Carole says, her voice breaking a bit. She always has wanted a daughter.

"Yeah, great job babe," Blaine says.

"I'm digging that fish," Burt chimes in.

"At least one of you does," Kurt says, rolling his eyes.

"So what should we do now? Should we wait for them on the pier?" Carole says.

"They'll find their way," Burt says. "It's only been a month."

"I wonder if Finn's going to be all pruny when he gets back," Blaine says.

"That's what you're wondering?" Kurt says snarkily.

"Do you think he'll still be able to hear?" Blaine says, ignoring Kurt's question.

"I'm pretty sure evolution took care of all that Blaine." Kurt continues.

Finn has to admit that it's strange coming home, he's never had to come home from anywhere before, let alone after spending a month under the sea and three extra days in Australia. Rachel was right, it really was magical, and being able to see more than coral and exotic fish was a nice change for her. They'll go other places, they may even take a plane one of these days. They resurface under the pier together and Finn smiles instantly at the sight of his island home, he never thought he had the capacity to miss this place.

"It looks the same," Finn says, scanning the beach as they leave the water in their bathing suits, hand in hand.

"What were you expecting? You've only been gone for a month," she says teasingly.

"I know, it's just kind of strange, it's like I've seen the world you know?"

"You've seen one other continent, there's still plenty more world to see Finn, like New York."

"Are you sure going the first week of Christmas break is a good idea, the water is going to be freezing," he says. "Maybe we can take a plane."

"I told you, your body can handle it, we're far more resilient than the average human, my father went to Alaska for his pilgrimage, Alaska Finn"

"Oh, so that's why he's pissed off all the time," Finn says.

"Well I did lie to him for seven years and bring home a human boyfriend," she says, shrugging.

"He's warming up to me though right? When we left he called me Finn and not 'you daughter stealing bottom feeder.'"

"And he really liked all of your stories, he pretended not to but he smiled a little at the one with the robots."

"Actually I was just giving him the gist of the Terminator," he says sheepishly.

"He'll come around," Rachel assures him.

"Maybe he'll lighten up a little if we find him a boyfriend, I mean I know Mermaids only get together to reproduce and everything but he's already done that. Besides, he's always commenting on that black Merman's shoulders."

"I think that's a nice idea," she says squeezing his hand as they continue to walk along the beach. It wasn't that hard to readjust to walking once they got to Sydney, the swimming was the hard part, even Rachel had a hard time being in the water with her new legs, but she adjusted eventually and she became almost as fast as she used to be, but much to her annoyance Finn was actually faster for the first time ever. The speaking telepathically was also a challenge, the first few times Rachel talked to him he would instinctively open his mouth to talk back to her, embarrassed when only bubbles would escape. He got used to it eventually though, so much so that they talked that way together the entire time they were in Australia, they could talk while they were eating, talk while they were kissing, even talk while they were talking with their mouths to other people. His favorite part about having Rachel's cool mermaid powers was by far the language absorption, although it did freak him out a little when he bumped into a Japanese tourist and could suddenly speak it fluently. "I'm so taking Japanese in school next year," he said excitedly.

School is bound to be tricky, there is still so much that Rachel doesn't know, and even Finn has trouble with Algebra and science, but Kurt promises to help her and Rachel always was the fastest learner he's ever encountered. The biggest trouble will be explaining why Rachel is a senior all of a sudden, the story Rachel worked out is that she lied about her age and ran away from a troubled home, it's as good a cover as any, she really is getting better at this.

They finally reach the house and Finn takes a keep breath before reaching for the doorknob, but there's no need, his mom explodes through the door and wraps him in a hug so tight it steals his breath.

"Oh my god Finn," Carole beams "Look at you!"

"Hey mom," he manages to choke out.

"Rachel, how are you honey?" Carole says over her son's shoulder.

"I'm lovely," she says. "I missed you all so much."

"Mom, if you don't mind I kind of need to get dressed," Finn says.

"Oh, of course," she says, finally releasing him from her death grip.

They change into dry clothes and meet the rest of their family in the kitchen, anxious to see what Burt's been up to in the last month, Rachel's eyes go wide at the sight of the manila envelope he holds out to her, it's her new life, right there in front of her. She tentatively takes it as if it's a priceless gem, to her it may as well be.

"You know that old college buddy of mine in the mainland I was telling you about?" Burt says, Rachel simply nods.

"Well he's an expert in phony documents," Burt explains. "Birth certificate, school records, ID, the whole nine. "Congratulations Rachel Berry, you officially exist."

"_Rachel Berry_," she says testing out the name as she looks over the shiny new fake ID. "Presenting star of stage and screen, Rachel Berry!" she continues exuberantly.

"Thank you guys," Finn says, "For everything."

"And seeing as you're going to be with us for the next year we want this to feel like home, we want you to think of us as your family," Carole says warmly.

"I already think of you as family," Rachel says.

"Wait, you're not thinking of adopting her are you, her being my sister would be kind of wierd," Finn chimes in.

"Do you think before you ask questions?" Kurt replies snarkily.

"No, we're not adopting you, but we did want to give you a gift," Carole says, "Follow us"

Rachel takes Finn's hand as she follows them down the hall, they stop at the door at the end of it. She's never been in this particular room before, and she wonders to herself what the surprise could possibly be.

"Rachel, welcome to your new home away from home," Kurt says, opening the door to the redecorated space and its just as they anticipated, she completely lights up at the sight of it.

"I can't believe you did this," she says emotionally. "I would have been perfectly happy to sleep on the couch."

"We were happy to do it, especially Kurt," Burt says.

"Give me a modest budget and an empty space and I'm all over it," Kurt agrees.

"It's beautiful," Rachel says tearfully.

"You guys are just too awesome for words," Finn says as he and Rachel take turns hugging his mother, Burt and Kurt in sequence.

"Hey I helped," Blaine said.

"Thank you very much too Blaine," Rachel says, kissing him on the cheek.

"Well we had ulterior motives, we don't want any funny business under this roof do you hear me?" Burt says sternly.

"Scout's honor," Finn agrees.

**One week later**

She reads all day, every day, determined to catch up by the time school starts, Finn doesn't mind, he likes watching her study, the way she bites her lip and twirls her hair while she's deep in thought is so charming, the problem is he can't always resist the urge to attack her when there's no one else in the house. Sometimes when she has her study sessions with Kurt he goes out to hang with Puck, Artie, Santana and the others. They don't all know the full story behind Quinn leaving and her dad being arrested, but they do know that she tracked down her mom in Chicago and is at least making strides toward regaining some semblance of a normal life. They all talk on facebook a lot. They buy Rachel's story about her home life, and they're all happy to have her around for the indefinite future, even if they won't always own up to it, Finn can tell that she's part of the group.

She's studying again now, listening to the Phantom soundtrack on her new ipod as Finn plays _Call Of duty_, it's nice, it feels normal, and it's good to feel normal sometimes, even though they're anything but.

"Finn?" she says, removing her earphones.

"Yeah babe?" he says pausing his game.

She shuts the book and gives him a warm smile. "What do you say we go to the movies tonight? We haven't been since _Harry Potter_, it seems wrong that it's the only film I've seen on the big screen."

"Are you sure you don't need to study more?" Finn says, not because he wants her to, but because it feels like the right thing to say.

"I can take a break, I fear that all of this new information is starting to push out the old stuff."

"Okay, just give me ten minutes," he says getting up from his bed. He needs to do laundry, he hasn't done it since before he went to sea, but the pair of jeans crumpled up in the corner look passable enough. He pulls them on over his boxers that he's been wearing all afternoon and he shoves his hands in his pockets, pushing the lining back in, but as he feels some sort of knotted, beaded cord in his pocket his brow knits in confusion. He pulls it out, and he smiles instantly as he sees what it is.

"Wow," I can't believe I forgot about this," he says, looking at the fish bracelet in his hand.

"What?" Rachel says, standing up to meet his side.

"Here, hold out your wrist," he says softly and she obliges. He fastens the bauble around her wrist and her faces lights up, just like he knew it would.

"It's beautiful," she says. "It's two little fish."

"It reminded me of us," he says bashfully. "Now more then ever."

"It's like you said when you were little," she says, taking his hand. "You're a fish too."

**That's all folks! Thanks for reading.**


End file.
